Eternally Yours
by FelgaHelzio96
Summary: Tommy Ryan boards the Ship of Dreams with his girlfriend Shannon O'Neal, optimistic to escape a life of poverty back in Ireland. But what happens when they find Tommy's 1st-class estranged older brother who's keeping a dark secret? And when the unsinkable ship sinks, can they trust the luck o' the Irish to keep them alive? Or will everything they've ever known come to a watery end?
1. The RMS Titanic

**A/N: ****This will follow the major events of the _Titanic _movie, and all the regular characters do appear in their canon roles with the addition of my OCs. However, to keep it different enough from _Titanic 97 From DVD To FFN_, I'll change a few scenes around and add some of my own... plus the main focus isn't on Jack and Rose, and there's the whole other storyline going on, so that in itself should keep the scenes different enough. **

**For anyone who hasn't read my profile before: Shannon's faceclaim is Irish actress Saoirse Ronan (even though she couldn't have actually played a role like this in 1997 b/c she would've only been like 3, I think she and young-Jason Barry would make the cutest couple ever), and Tommy's brother's faceclaim is a young-Hugh Jackman. There's pictures on my profile.**

**JAMES CAMERON OWNS TITANIC AND HIS CHARACTERS. THE OCs ARE MY OWN CREATION. Enjoy!**

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_The RMS Titanic_

_Thursday, April 11th, 1912. _

The RMS Titanic made its third and final stop in Queenstown, County Cork, Ireland to pick up the last of its passengers at Cork Harbour. Many poor Irish immigrants stepped aboard the grand ship, optimistic about starting over in the promise land. 21-year-old Tommy Ryan and his girlfriend, 18-year-old Shannon O'Neal, were no exception.

They had decided to leave their home town of Dunfanaghy in County Donegal, where over half of their village lived in starvation, to seek a better life in America. For a few years, anyways... they did intend to return to Ireland. Tommy had wanted to look for work in the city of Chicago, and then send whatever money he earned back to his family in Ireland. He had originally planned to travel alone, but Shannon had refused to let him go unless he took her with him. In the end, he was glad not to leave the love of his life behind. He knew the voyage would be much more enjoyable if he could share it with the girl who meant everything to him.

They stood in the inspection queue line as they waited to board the ship. Tommy wore a grayish-brown coat and a dark brown vest over his tattered white shirt, along with a pair of gray trousers, and a brown bowler hat on his head of scruffy light brown curls. His warm hazel eyes were wide with delight. Beside him, Shannon wore a simple white blouse with a long teal colored skirt, and had her long strawberry blonde hair pinned up in a bun. She also had a plaid shawl draped over her shoulders to keep warm. Her bright blue eyes gleamed in the sunlight.

"Look at that, sweet, that's a fine ship," Tommy remarked, turning to look at his girlfriend.

"Yes, love, it's a beautiful ship, to take us to a beautiful place," Shannon replied, admiring the grand ship from afar.

Tommy grinned and put his arm around her. "I'm glad you're here, sweet, I love you more than the world itself," he whispered, softly pecking her on the forehead.

Shannon smiled and snuggled into his chest. "I wouldn't have let you leave me home, love, because a life without you is no life at all," she whispered back.

All around them, Cork Harbour was a somewhat chaotic scene; passengers scurrying every which way, children screaming, crates and other cargo items being transported onto the ship, and the officers and crew members shouting out orders. It was a beautiful day, and excitement was in the very air.

Finally, after waiting for about an hour, it was their turn in the inspection line. "Names, please?" a young officer asked.

"Tommy Ryan," Tommy answered.

"Shannon O'Neal," Shannon added.

"Thomas Christopher and Shannon Maureen, traveling together from Dunfanaghy, Donegal?" the officer asked for clarification.

"Yeah, that's us," Tommy replied, as they both nodded.

The officer nodded and checked something off on his notepad. "Take your hat off, Sir," he said. Tommy removed his hat, and the officer ran a comb through his hair to check for any lice. "Clean, hold tight a moment," he said, giving him a quick pat down. "You're fine, let me check the lady," the officer nodded for Tommy to step to the side. He checked Shannon's bun for lice and then patted her down. "She's fine," he said.

Another officer was looking through their sole suitcase. "No weapons," he confirmed, handing it back to Tommy. "All clear! Board that way! Next in line please!" he yelled, motioning for the man behind them in line to step forward.

"Come on!" Tommy shouted with a wide grin, running up the steerage ramp as he pulled Shannon along behind him.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Shannon yelled, laughing as she tried to catch her breath.

They boarded the ship and handed their boarding passes to Officer Moody, and then stopped to take one last look at their homeland. Ireland was a beautiful country of green fields, blue waters, and precious memories that they would never forget. A sudden nostalgic feeling washed over them as they realized that they were really leaving, and a single tear dripped down Shannon's face as she thought about her family.

Her father, Bobby, had been extremely reluctant to let her go. However, she had insisted that she was old enough to make her own choices, so he'd had no other choice but to give in to her decision. She knew that she'd never forget the look on his face when she'd walked out the door, and she ached inside because of it. Her mother, Eileen, had been a bit calmer about it, but she too had still tried to talk her into staying home. She could still feel her mother's breath on her neck like when she'd hugged her goodbye. But what had been the main cause of that single tear, was thinking about how sad her brother and sister had been. Rhiannon, her 15-year-old sister, and Rory, her 12-year-old brother, had looked as if they were completely and utterly lost. She knew they had always looked up to her.

"Don't worry Shanny. We'll go back someday soon, and as soon as I can make enough money, we can send for our families to come to Chicago," Tommy promised her, noticing the sad expression that had come across her face. He had every intention of coming back once he was able to make a decent salary. He figured he'd be respected back home for traveling so far, and be offered better job opportunities because of it when they returned.

He thought about how much he'd miss his own family. His parents, Stephen and Margaret, were far older than all of his friends' parents. His father was already sixty-two, and his mother was sixty. He knew that they were too set in their ways to leave Ireland at this point, and with his father getting older, he also knew that they would need help getting money. Even though he had a brother, he was considered their only child. His brother Joseph, who was now twenty-five, had abandoned the family to run off to Wales with a rich friend of his.

"I know Tommy, but I'm really going to miss it," Shannon told him, wiping the sole tear away with her sleeve. She knew it would be a while before she'd see those lush green fields again.

"Let's go find our cabin, then we can explore the ship, eh?" Tommy suggested, gently pulling her along through a corridor. "It says we're on G deck, so we've just got to find cabin number sixty nine," he mused, looking over their tickets.

"All right," Shannon said, composing herself and following him. She looked around at all the passengers trying to find their cabins. There seemed to be a ton of cabins on their level of the ship, and she began to wonder if they would ever find theirs.

Tommy stopped abruptly in front of a door. "G-69, found it!" he announced with a triumphant grin.

Shannon bumped into his back. "Eye, how about a little heads up before stopping so fast?" she laughed, opening the door.

They stepped inside a small room with two bunk beds, each with a simple blanket per bed. There was a single porthole on the opposite wall. Tommy shrugged and claimed the bunk bed on the left side of the room, and put their suitcase on the lower bed. He opened it and pulled out his pack of cigarettes. There wasn't much in their bag, just their night-clothes, a tattered copy of the Bible, some old photographs, Tommy's grandfather's lucky watch, a ruby necklace given to Shannon by her mother, and Shannon's diary that she planned to use as a travel journal.

He looked at the other bunk bed across the room. "So I'm assuming there's gonna be another couple joining us," he mused, putting his cigarettes in his pocket.

Shannon nodded and climbed up on the higher bed. "Eye, it seems so," she agreed, setting her pillow down.

"Let's go up on deck, I wanna have a smoke or two," Tommy said, closing the suitcase and stowing it safely under the bed.

"All right, it will be nice to get some fresh air," Shannon agreed, climbing back down and pulling her shawl tighter around herself.

...

They reached the third class deck, and leaned against one of the railings. Titanic was now steaming west from the Irish coast and heading towards New York Harbor. There was a cool breeze that blew gently over the clear turquoise sea, and the orangey-yellow sunshine was bright and warm as it shone down on them.

"So do you really think this ship is unsinkable?" Shannon asked her boyfriend. Everyone had heard the rumors, but she couldn't quite grasp the concept of a ship being completely unsinkable.

"Folks are sayin' not even God can sink it, I think that's a load of shite," Tommy replied as he lit his cigarette.

"It's a nice ship, but anything this large would surely sink if enough water got in," Shannon agreed absent mindedly.

Tommy puffed out a dark cloud of smoke and looked around the deck. On a bench near by, sat a 20-year-old traveling artist with shaggy blonde hair named Jack Dawson. He was sketching a little girl and her father, Cora and Bert Cartmell, who were looking over the side of the ship at the propellers.

"Do you make any money off your drawings?" Tommy asked him.

"What?" the man asked, looking up from his work.

"Do you make any money off your drawings?" Tommy repeated his question.

"Oh, well, it just sort of depends I guess. I used to sell portraits for ten cents a piece on the Santa Monica Pier in California, but other than that it's really just a hobby of mine," the man replied with a shrug.

"I see, you've got quite a talent there," Tommy mused.

"Eye, your drawings are lovely," Shannon added.

"Thanks," the man said.

"So you're an American, then?" Shannon asked, referring mostly to his accent.

"Yeah, I'm from Chippewa Falls Wisconsin originally, but I've traveled all over Europe," the man explained.

"Very cool." Tommy took a long drag on his cigarette. Shannon reached up and took it out of his mouth, taking a puff for herself. He scowled at her and playfully slapped her shoulder. She winked at him.

"I'm Tommy Ryan, by the way," he said, extending his hand for the other man to shake.

"Shannon O'Neal," Shannon chimed in, accidentally blowing smoke in his face. "I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed as her face went a deep shade of crimson. Tommy bust out laughing.

"Ja-ck Dawson," the man choked out as he shook their hands. He waved the dark smoke cloud away from his face. "It's fine," he added.

"No really, I'm so sorry," Shannon repeated. She couldn't believe that she'd just done that to a complete stranger.

"Really, it's all right," Jack laughed.

"Apparently she doesn't realize she's got to blow out before she speaks," Tommy teased.

"Oh shut your mouth," Shannon rolled her eyes playfully.

Jack laughed again. "So where are you guys from?" he asked them.

Tommy spoke first. "Dunfanaghy, County Donegal. In Ireland," he replied with prideful grin.

Jack nodded and closed his sketchpad. "Are you guys together, then?" he asked curiously. He'd noted that they had different last names, so he assumed they weren't married, but he figured they had to know each other since Tommy's arm was around her waist and she'd just smoked his cigarette.

Tommy grinned again. "Eye, she's my other half, ya know," he laughed.

Jack nodded with a light chuckle. "I see," he said.

Shannon smiled at Jack. "Are you traveling alone, then?" she asked him curiously.

Jack shook his head. "No, my buddy Fabrizio and I won our tickets in a poker game yesterday against these two Swedish guys, we barely made it onto the ship," he told them as he tried not to laugh. "If you run into a funny Italian guy, that's him. He's inside in the general room talking to some Norwegian girl he's had his eye on since yesterday afternoon," he added with a smirk.

Tommy nodded. "Eye, we'll have to look around then," he laughed. Shannon just smiled.

Suddenly, something caught Jack's eye, as his gaze became fixed on the first class deck up above them. There was a lovesick look in his bright seafoam colored eyes and a dreamy expression across his face. Tommy looked up to see what Jack was staring at.

Standing against the rail, was a young lady with vibrant ginger hair pulled back in an elegant bun. She wore a lacey soft green dress with an orange flower attatched to the belt part of it. She seemed to just be staring off into the distance, and there was a distinct scowl across her porcelain-doll like face.

"Eye forget her, boyo! You're as like to have angels fly out of your arse as get next to the likes of her," Tommy shook his head.

"Can't a man dream?" Jack laughed with a sly grin.

He watched as another man with sleek dark brown hair in a black evening suit approached the young lady. They appeared to be having a brief argument, and then the lady stormed back inside, the man on her heels.

Just then, an officer walked by walking a French bulldog. "That's typical isn't it, first class dogs coming down here to take their shite," Shannon rolled her eyes with disgust.

Tommy had lit another cigarette. "They don't give a damn." He shrugged as he blew more smoke out of his mouth.

Jack grinned at them. "Lets us know where we rank in the scheme of things," he commented.

"As if they'd let us forget it," Tommy laughed. He finished off his cigarette and put his arm around Shannon. "We're going back inside for now, see you around," he said to Jack.

"It was nice meeting you," Shannon added.

"Thanks, you guys too, maybe I'll see you inside later and you can meet Fabrizio," Jack replied with a grin as he waved goodbye.

Tommy smiled at his girlfriend as they walked back inside. He knew that it was definitely going to be an interesting voyage, and he couldn't be happier to have the love of his life by his side.

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Please tell me what you think of this so far!

I realize this isn't your typical Tommy/OC fic, because that's what I was aiming for...I have these bursts of creativity where I want to put a completely different spin on a popular idea. Usually Tommy meets the girl for the first time on the ship (and that _is _actually the case with Shannon in my headcanon, but this is an AU of my own headcanon) and she's typically a first class girl. I've seen a few where the OC is a third class girl, though. Anyways, this is different because while their romance will be a large part of this story, there's a dark and serious plot underneath it all.

So I'm not going to beg for reviews, but it would mean the WORLD to me if you'd share your feedback. I'd love some solid concrit on this. If anyone catches any historical inaccuracies (besides them sharing a room, I'm aware of that but I'm doing it anyways) please let me know and I'll fix them!

Happy reading! :)


	2. Family Ties

**A/N: Thanks to **** kailen dot hargrove (for some reason it won't let me add the period) for following this story, you're awesome! **

**Here's another chappie fer ye!**

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_Family Ties_

Tommy and Shannon held hands as they walked back to their cabin on G-deck. They were tired from travelling all day and wanted to relax for a bit before joining the other third class passengers.

When they walked into the room, there was a large suitcase and a set of uilleann pipes laying on the other bunkbed across the room. They guessed the other couple had arrived but had since left the cabin again.

"Everything feels so surreal," Shannon mused with a dreamy smile as she looked out their porthole window. She smiled at the bright sunshine radiating through the glass. "I've never felt so alive, running off on this magnificent ship with you, it's amazing," she added with a faraway sigh.

"Yeah, I know," Tommy agreed. He walked over and gently wrapped his arms around her waist. "I would've been a damned fool if I'd left you in Ireland, eh?" he asked with a sly grin.

"Yes, you would've," Shannon replied with an airy giggle.

Tommy flashed her a wily smirk as they went over and sat on the lower bed together. "Eye, but do you know why I would've been a damned fool to leave you behind?" he asked her.

Shannon shook her head and rested it against his chest. "No, but I'm sure you're going to tell me," she teased him.

"Because then I wouldn't be able to do this," Tommy said, pressing his lips forcefully against hers. He gently pushed her down onto her back, causing her to wrap her arms around his neck. "Oh Shanny, you don't even know what you do to me," he mumbled between kisses.

"What do I do to you?" Shannon asked as she paused for air.

"You enchant me, every time I look at you it makes my heart melt," Tommy replied before kissing her again.

Shannon wrapped her legs around his waist as he began to kiss her even harder. Tommy slowly took out her hairpins and let her long strawberry blonde hair fall in waves against the soft pillow. He had grabbed the button on his gray trousers, when Shannon suddenly stopped him.

Tommy cocked an eyebrow at her, confused. "What is it, sweet?" he asked, softly stroking her face.

Shannon shook her head and reached up to rub her nose against his. "Wait, don't, I'm not ready," she whispered, kissing him again.

"All right, I'll be good," Tommy laughed, twirling her hair between his fingers. He sat up and pulled her up with him, embracing her in a tight hug. "You're my whole world, Shanny, you know that," he told her sincerely.

"Thank you," Shannon giggled, rubbing his back. "I love you, Tommy," she said.

Tommy grinned and kissed her behind her ear. "I love you more," he whispered. His hot breath against her neck made her cringe, but in a good way.

Shannon grabbed one of his hands and kissed his fingers. "I'll let you know when I am ready, it's not about being married or not, I'm just afraid of what it's going to feel like," she explained. "And besides, our roommates could walk in any second now," she added with a giggle.

"No, I completely understand," Tommy replied with a silly grin.

"I knew you would," Shannon said, smiling.

Suddenly, their cabin door opened again, and the other couple walked in. They appeared to be middle-aged. The man had dark brown hair and soft green eyes, and the lady had bright red hair and dark brown eyes.

The man spoke first. "Nice to meet you, I'm Mick Hannigan and this is my wife Brenna," he said, extending his hand out to Tommy.

Tommy nodded with a smile. "Pleasure, I'm Tommy Ryan, and this is my lovely girlfriend Shannon O'Neal," he replied, shaking Mick's hand.

"Which part of Ireland are you coming from?" Mick asked curiously.

"Dunfanaghy, County Donegal," Tommy replied. "What about you?" he asked.

"Castlecomer, County Kilkenny," Mick told him.

"Nice," Tommy nodded. "So are those your pipes?" he wanted to know.

"Eye, they are indeed," Mick replied with a proud grin.

"Sometimes I think he loves those damn pipes more than me!" Brenna laughed with an eye roll, walking across the room to put something in their suitcase.

"She lies," Mick replied with a lighthearted chuckle. Tommy just grinned.

"I love the sound of the pipes, will you be playing them for everyone?" Shannon asked. She was working on pinning her hair back up in a bun.

"I'd like to, I'll bring them to the general room after dinner," Mick told them. He went over and picked up the pipes, stowing them safely under their bed, before climbing up to the top bed. "I think I'll take a wee nap, all this travel has got me beat down," he said with a yawn. Brenna had grabbed her book and sat down on the lower bed, putting on a pair of reading glasses.

Tommy glanced at Shannon, who was absent-mindedly picking at the frayed hem of her long teal skirt. "Would you like to go explore the inside of the ship some more?" he offered, trying to think of something to do. It wasn't like the third class had many options for entertainment, after all.

Shannon smiled happily and stood up, smoothing her skirt. "Yeah, I'd love to," she replied.

"We'll let you guys rest," Tommy said to the Hannigans as he opened the door for Shannon. They stepped out into the hallway, where he gently backed her into a corner and kissed her again. "Come on, sweet, let's go see what other fun stuff this ship's got," he said with a wily grin.

"Okay," Shannon giggled, following him down a long corridor. "Do you even know which direction you're going?" she asked, pulling on his arm to get him to slow down a bit.

"Eye, it doesn't matter which direction we go, we're exploring," Tommy replied, laughing as he put his arm around her. They continued along the corridor until they came to a staircase. "Hey, wonder where this goes," he mused with a gleam of mischief shining in his warm hazel eyes.

"There's only one way to find out," Shannon said with a smile. "But since I'm feeling a cool breeze and smelling seawater, I'd assume it leads up on deck," she teased him.

"You always were such a know-it-all," Tommy teased her back. He ran up the staircase eagerly, with Shannon not far behind him. Sure enough, it led out onto the third class deck as Shannon had said. "Eye, you were right!" he grinned.

"It's been known to happen," she giggled.

"So do you want to see if we can find Jack and his friend?" Tommy suggested, looking around. He didn't see the blonde artist or a funny Italian man anywhere, so he guessed that Jack had gone back inside.

"Sure," Shannon replied. She started to follow him, when suddenly, he stopped in his tracks. "What is it?" she asked him. But she didn't need him to answer, because it was in that moment that she noticed it herself.

Walking towards them, was a young man in a finely tailored navy blue suit. He had dark brown hair and bright amber colored eyes. He had come down from the first class deck, and walked briskly in their direction, but he didn't seem to notice them standing there.

Tommy's eyes were wide open in shock as he stared straight ahead in disbelief. He knew exactly who that man was, as did Shannon. It was Tommy's 25-year-old brother Joseph, who had run off and abandoned his family.

"No feckin' way..." Tommy muttered angrily.

"Jesus, Mary, and quite literally...Joseph," Shannon breathed in disbelief.

Seeing him come from first class made Tommy's blood boil with rage. Even though he knew his parents were just as angry with Joseph as he was, he couldn't help but hate his brother for just running off and abandoning them. It had been three years since they had even heard of Joseph's whereabouts, and five in total since he'd first run off. And yet there he was, walking towards them, in all his wealth and glory.

Tommy remembered the day his brother left as if it were just the other day. It had been a warm summer day and the sun was shining brightly. Joseph, then twenty, had come home and announced that his friend Billy O'Roarke had invited him to spend the summer in Wales. The O'Roarke family was the only wealthy family in all of Dunfanaghy, and they owned a beach house in Wales. Mr. and Mrs. O'Roarke had always been very gracious towards the other villagers, and helped their poor neighbors by providing them with food and clothes when needed.

Tommy, then sixteen, had been sitting at the kitchen table with Shannon, then thirteen, and another boy named Ricky MacShane. Joseph had bragged about getting to stay in a luxurious beach house, and then ran upstairs to pack his things. He'd left at dusk, while their parents were still out, and told Tommy to tell them he'd left and wouldn't be back until the end of the summer. When their father had come home from the docks, and their mother from the marketplace, Tommy had told them where his brother had gone. They had been angry that Joseph didn't say goodbye, but it had been too late to do anything about it. Sure enough, summer passed, and Joseph had not returned. The only thing they had recieved from him was a letter stating that he did not plan to return at all.

Now, five years later, Tommy was seeing his brother for the first time. He could scarcely believe that after Joseph had come into good fortune, he hadn't even bothered to share with his family who lived in utter poverty. He didn't know how his brother had managed to become so wealthy, but he figured it had come to him in an underhanded way. Joseph had never been one to play fair.

If Joseph had just shared his good fortune, Tommy probably wouldn't have had to leave Ireland in the first place. Joseph's selfishness made Tommy sick to his stomach, and he clenched his fists furiously.

"How the hell did he get into first class?" he mumbled, his face reddening.

"I don't know...I can't believe it either," Shannon whispered, her jaw was numb from hanging open.

"He's done for, he is!" Tommy hissed in fury, charging towards his brother and tackling him onto the deck.

Joseph cried out in suprise as his younger brother grabbed his jacket and started slamming him against the deck. "YOU SON OF A BITCH! LOOK AT YOU! YOU'RE A FIRST CLASS MAN AND YOU DON'T EVEN THINK TO SHARE WITH YOUR FAMILY WHO'S STARVING BACK HOME? DAMNIT. IF YOU WEREN'T SUCH A SELFISH BASTARD I WOULDN'T EVEN HAVE HAD TO LEAVE IRELAND!" Tommy yelled, infuriated. His face was almost completely sanguine colored.

Shannon rushed over and pulled Tommy off of his brother. She knew that any officers walking by would arrest Tommy and not even question Joseph because of their class barrier. "Calm down, he isn't worth it," she pleaded.

Tommy scrambled to his feet and took a few steps back, but he still glared daggers at Joseph with his eyes. "What the hell are you even doing down here? Or on this ship for that matter?" he grumbled, noticing some of the other steerage passengers watching them.

Joseph stood up and fixed his clothes, scowling. "I'm walking the whole ship, I want to see it all. And I'm here for business reasons," he replied in a snobby tone. "Why are you on the ship, eh?" he asked, looking directly into his brother's eyes without even the slightest bit of guilt.

"I'm going to America so I can get a job and send money back to our mother and father, you know... the people who gave you life? I suppose you've probably forgotten all about them by now, considering you just took off without a care in the world for the rest of us. Tell me, how does it feel to be such a self centered bastard?" Tommy spat.

"Oh spew your venom, brother, but the fact remains that I'm actually worth something now. Father should be proud, I actually brought some value to our otherwise worthless family name," Joseph spat back. He noticed Shannon standing beside him. "Aw, did you two sick puppies finally get married?" he mocked.

Infuriated, Tommy decked his brother straight in the jaw. "How feckin' dare you talk like that!" he yelled. He wouldn't tolerate his brother bashing their family like that, and he was infuriated that Joseph had the nerve to even speak about his relationship with Shannon.

Joseph held his jaw and smirked. "I'd sue you for this, except I know you don't have one pound to your pathetic name," he said calmly.

Tommy went to punch him again, but Shannon held him back. "Don't, you'll be the one who gets in trouble," she whispered in his ear, trying to get him to relax. Tommy scowled and lowered his fist.

"Keep talking to me like that, 'cause guess what I'm going to do?" he asked, smirking.

"What?" Joseph asked, a bored expression across his face.

"I'm going to tell our mam and dad all about your new life as a rich man, and how you could give two bloody shites about them so long as you're drowning in wealth," Tommy threatened through clenched teeth. "For goodness sake, they don't even know where you are or if you're all right!" he added with a disgusted glare.

Joseph's eyes snapped wide open. "If you breathe one single word of this to them, there will be hell to pay. I am done with my roots, embarassed by them. I do not want to be associated with such scum as yourselves," he hissed in a warning tone of voice.

Tommy crossed his arms. "I'm not scared of you," he hissed back.

Joseph scowled and tapped his foot impatiently. "Fine. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back my room. I have some important business to take care of," he snapped irritably.

"What sort of business? How'd you get so rich anyways? Why don't you feckin' tell me where the hell you've been for five years, eh?" Tommy demanded. He wasn't done asking questions.

"Billy and I started our own company while in Wales. He's recently gone to America to expand the business there, and that's why I'm on the ship, I'm going to meet him. And the reason you haven't seen or heard from me until now, is because once I became a millionaire... I was too ashamed to even think about my past. Long story short, I no longer associate with paupers," Joseph explained with a shrug.

Tommy was about to deck Joseph in the jaw again, when he realized something that his brother had said didn't quite add up. He shared a quizzical glance with Shannon, who shrugged. "Wait, so Billy O'Roarke... your best friend who you ran away with five years ago... is waiting for you in America?" he asked for clarification.

Joseph nodded and cocked his eyebrow at his younger brother. "Yes, that's what I said you nincompoop. Can you not hear properly?" he spat.

"No I heard you just fine," Tommy replied through clenched teeth.

"I'm leaving now, goodbye," Joseph huffed, stalking away back towards first class.

Tommy looked at Shannon. "What the hell is he talking about? There's no way Billy O'Roarke is waiting for him in America, he isn't even alive!" he exclaimed.

Shannon shrugged again. "Perhaps he's in denial? Billy was his best friend after all, maybe he just can't accept the fact he's gone," she suggested.

Just last month, news had spread through their village that Billy O'Roarke had been found murdered in his family's beach house in Wales. Mr. and Mrs. O'Roarke were grief-stricken and told all of their friends, the Ryans and O'Neals included. Apparently Mr. O'Roarke had given the beach house to Billy to live in, and they had all figured Joseph had been staying with him the entire time. When the news had broken about Billy's murder, Mr. and Mrs. Ryan had been worried sick for Joseph's safety. Just remembering it, Tommy shook his head. He couldn't get over that even after that, Joseph still hadn't bothered to contact them and let them know he was all right.

"I don't know, there's a fishy feeling in the air," Tommy mused.

* * *

Tell me what you think!


	3. Of Liars and Lullabies

**A/N: Shout-out to Moment For Life for the nice review, you rock! And also to NoScrubs4Me for following/favoriting, you're awesome! This is a much longer chapter, and it's really just because I got carried away... XD**

**Disclaimer: Too Ra Loo Ra is in the public domain.**

**Warning: There is a part towards the end that contains a lot of sexual tension/people undressing... but there's no sexual activity or nudity.**

* * *

_Of Liars And Lullabies_

"Well of course there is, we're in the middle of the ocean," Shannon teased, trying to cheer him up a little.

"You're adorable, but we both know what I meant," Tommy laughed, putting his arm around her waist.

Shannon managed a faint smile. "I know what you're hinting at. You think Joseph has something to do with Billy's murder," she said.

Tommy shrugged with a sheepish grin. "I don't know, maybe, I'm not really sure what or who to believe right now," he replied. "I'm still in a wee bit of shock, it's been five years and we just happen to be on the same ship," he added, shaking his head and running his hand across his fluffy light brown hair.

They started walking in the direction of the third class general room. "I just can't believe he doesn't contact us for five years, and then lets our mam and dad be worried sick after the news of Billy's murder spreads all around the village. But most of all, I can't get over that he was buying fancy clothes and probably eating like a king while we were starving back home eating my ma's potato porridge every damn day of the year!" Tommy ranted furiously, still clenching his fists as they walked.

Shannon shook her head. "That's despicable, not giving two shites about your own family like that," she agreed quietly.

Tommy nodded and rubbed his forehead tiredly. "You remember what a feckin' arse he was when we were younger, now he's a hundred and fifty times worse," he muttered with a heavy sigh.

"I remember that time he was so angry at you for catching a bigger fish than him, that he pulled your underpants all the way over your head and face," Shannon reminisced, giggling as she pictured it.

"Eye, don't remind me. That was the most painful wedgie I'd ever gotten, ya know," Tommy laughed, cringing at the memory.

"What about the one I gave you after you pulled my dress up last year?" Shannon giggled.

"Oh, that was a painful one too. Now you'd like it if I had a peek up there, wouldn't ya?" Tommy teased.

Shannon elbowed him in the gut and rolled her eyes. "Must you be so crass all the time?" she laughed, gently rubbing where she'd hit him.

Tommy smirked at her and shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say? You're my lassie with the pretty assie, any sane man would love to see it," he joked, softly kissing her forehead.

Suddenly they reached the door to the third class general room. They could hear a light jig being played on a piano, people speaking to each other in various languages, and the obnoxious screaming and yelling of children running around.

"Let's see if Jack's in here, I'd like to meet this Italian friend of his," Tommy chuckled, opening the door and stepping inside. Shannon followed.

"Isn't that him over there?" she asked, nodding towards the far left side of the room. A man with shaggy blonde hair was standing against the wall as he spoke to another man with dark hair, who was leaning on the opposite wall.

"Good eye, Shanny, I think it is," Tommy said, grinning as he motioned for her to follow him.

They made their way through the crowded room, and as they got closer, Tommy could see a brown sketchpad tucked under the blonde man's arm. It was definitely Jack, and he knew the other man was most likely his friend Fabrizio.

Jack glanced up from his conversation for a second, and he noticed them walking across the room. He immediately waved them over with a large grin spreading across his face.

"Hey again!" he exclaimed.

"Hello there," Tommy laughed.

"Hi," Shannon giggled.

"Fabri, this is Tommy Ryan and his girlfriend Shannon O'Neal. They just boarded this afternoon in Ireland, I met them on deck before," Jack said, looking at his friend. "Guys, this is Fabrizio De Rossi, my partner in crime," he added with a chuckle.

"E 'così bello conoscerti... is a' so nice to meet you," Fabrizio said, shaking Tommy's hand and lightly kissing Shannon's.

"You as well," Tommy replied.

"It's a pleasure," Shannon added.

"So are you enjoying the voyage so far?" Jack asked them curiously.

"Yeah," Tommy nodded.

"The ship is nice, eh?" Fabrizio grinned.

"Yeah, it's an Irish ship," Tommy replied with a prideful grin.

"Is English, no?" Fabrizio was confused.

"No, no, it was built in Ireland. Fifteen thousand Irishmen built this ship, solid as a rock, big Irish hands," Tommy explained.

"Oh, I see," Fabrizio nodded his understanding. "So a' do all Irish people have big hands?" he wanted to know, his warm hazel eyes gleaming with curiosity.

"Oh no, he was just joking," Shannon laughed.

"Oh!" Fabrizio cracked a smile. "He joking, I get it now."

Jack chuckled. "Try to keep up ragazzo mio," he said, playfully nudging his friend's arm.

Fabrizio scowled. "Hey you no hit me," he joked, shoving him into the wall.

Suddenly, his eye was caught by something, and he fixed his gaze across the room. Next to the door, a girl with blonde hair pulled into a tight bun and bright blue eyes was standing with her parents. She was wearing some sort of traditional costume that consisted of a long navy blue skirt with three stripes at the bottom, and a black sweater over a white blouse with blue flowers. She also appeared to be wearing a lacey white bib-looking thing around her neck.

"What'cha lookin' at, Fabri?" Jack teased.

"That is Helga Dahl, she's a' from Norway," Fabrizio explained with a dreamy look in his eyes.

"Why don't you ask her to come over here, then?" Jack laughed, shoving his friend forward.

"Okay I ask her, but a' just so you know, she a' no really speak English," Fabrizio said. He let out a nervous chuckle and cleared his throat. "Hey, Helga!" he yelled across the room.

She turned to see who had yelled her name, and then smiled as Fabrizio waved her over. She walked across the room towards them, stopping directly in front of Fabrizio, before looking down at her feet shyly.

Fabrizio held both of her hands in his own. "Helga, I want you to a' meet i miei amici...my friends," he said.

Helga looked up and smiled at them. "Hei," she said softly. She glanced across the room, to see that her father was still watching her closely from the doorway. She sighed, he was always hovering. "Helga Dahl," she added.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Jack Dawson, Fabrizio's lifeline," Jack said with a smirk, shaking her hand.

"I'm Tommy Ryan," Tommy said as he tipped his bowler hat.

"Shannon O'Neal," Shannon said, also shaking her hand.

"Hei," Helga repeated, still smiling.

Just then, a group of people got up from a nearby bench to go walk out on the deck. Jack seized the opportunity right away by sitting down in the middle of the bench. "Let's all sit and get to know each other a little better," he suggested.

Fabrizio sat on the other side of the bench, directly behind Jack. He patted the seat next to him for Helga, who still felt a bit shy as she lowered herself onto the bench. "Is a' great idea Jack," Fabrizio agreed. Tommy and Shannon sat down next to Jack.

"So I've got a question, how did you two meet?" Jack asked curiously, directing his question at the Irish sweethearts.

"Honestly, I don't even remember," Tommy replied, laughing as he wrapped his arm around Shannon's waist.

"We've just always known each other," Shannon explained, smiling happily as she looked into Tommy's eyes.

"So you a' grow up together, yes?" Fabrizio wanted to know.

"Yeah," Tommy said. Just then, a thought popped into his head. "Wait, I think I do remember how I met her. I was eight years old, a mischevious sneaky little bugger who was always looking for trouble. One day, all of us kids were playing on the beach, and a certain five year old didn't realize that her swimsuit was stuck up her arse-" he started, but was cut off by Shannon elbowing him in the ribcage. "-anyways, being the instigator I was, I went over and pulled it out for her. Instead of thanking me for relieving her discomfort, she kicked me in the stomach," he finished.

"That is SO not how we met!" Shannon exclaimed indignantly. "I had collected a big pile of seashells, and you came over and kicked them back into the ocean when the tide came in," she corrected him.

"Well if you want to tell the real story, sure, but I like mine better," Tommy said with a wily smirk. Shannon rolled her eyes.

Jack bust out laughing and clapped his hands. "That's great, that's so cool. It sounds like you two have quite the history," he commented.

Fabrizio smiled happily. "You two are molto divertente...very funny," he said.

Tommy grinned at both of them. "So Fabrizio, how did you meet Helga?" he inquired.

Jack chuckled at his question, eagerly awaiting Fabrizio's response. "Yeah, how did you meet her? You just got on the ship yesterday," he wanted to know.

"You remember when looking for 'da cabin? We pass her family in the hallway," Fabrizio replied, grinning at Helga, who was awkwardly playing with the hem of her skirt. She blushed. "I a' thought she was a bella signorina with her fair golden hair and eyes like 'da ocean, so 'dis morning I a' talk to her her after breakfast," he explained.

"Ja, han var søt, " Helga giggled, saying that Fabrizio was cute.

"That's so sweet," Shannon mused, smiling. She was a hopeless romantic.

"Sì, I a' think so too," Fabrizio said. "Helga, you are bella signorina," he added with a grin, making Helga giggle.

"How did you meet Fabrizio, Jack?" Shannon asked, while they were on the topic of how who met who.

Jack grinned and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, as I said before, I'm a travelling artist. I was all on my own by the time I was fifteen, so I left Wisconsin and explored the world, drawing anything and everything that I felt represented the meaning of life. On my travels in Europe, I ended up in a small town in Italy. I was hungry and tired, and ended up falling asleep near a tiny villa. I was woken up by the landlady, Maria, who insisted that I stay the night for free and eat some food. As it turned out, she had a son helping her run the place, who aspired to someday go to America. Fabrizio. We became fast friends, as in literally overnight, and he wanted to travel with me. We've been all over the place together, and now here we are," he explained with a shrug.

Fabrizio chuckled and sat back against the bench. "Sì, is true," he chimed in.

"So you guys don't have any specific reasons for going to America, then?" Tommy asked.

"Not really, I'd like to see what's in New York City and maybe settle down there, I'd only been there for a short time on my travels and I really liked it," Jack replied.

"I go to America to be a millionaire," Fabrizio piped up with a hopeful grin.

Jack chuckled and slapped his friend's arm. He looked over at Tommy and Shannon again. "Why did you guys flee the Emerald Isle?" he wanted to know.

Tommy shook his head sadly. "Lots of poverty over there. More than half our village lived in starvation, with most of the rest of us just barely scraping by. My mam and dad are older, and I wanted to look for a job in Chicago so I can send money back to 'em. Shanny here is tagging along because she insisted that she'd miss me too much. We have every intention of returning to Ireland in a few years, though, it's a beautiful place," he explained.

Shannon nodded. "Yeah, as much as I miss it over there, I know we'll go back soon enough. Plus I've always wanted to see what life was like in a big American city such as Chicago," she added. "So Helga, what is your family coming across the ocean for?" she asked curiously.

In her best broken English, along with the use of some hand gestures, Helga smiled and explained that she was traveling to Minnesota with her parents. Most of her father's side of the family was already there, and had built a large dairy farm property called Dahlgård where they all lived together. She said that she and her parents were going to live there, too, and she was excited to see all of her cousins. Her cousins had told her that Minnesota was very similar to where they lived in Norway; it was cold, and they had already seen the Northern Lights twice. She also told them how her uncle had brought over a few of their goats from Norway, and one of the goats had just had babies, so she was excited to play with the baby goats.

"Aww, my aunt Eilís had a goat once, but then it ran away...it was very sad," Shannon told her.

"Oh, nei!" Helga exclaimed and shook her head. Even though she couldn't speak English very well herself, she could understand it to a certain extent.

"I remember it ran away when your cousin Finnán opened the gate," Tommy smirked.

"Can't trust goats, I guess," Jack mused, laughing.

"Maybe 'da goat just no like your cousin," Fabrizio suggested.

"Either that or he was sick of Shannon feeding him potatoes," Tommy agreed with a devilish smirk, causing his girlfriend to glare at him. "Man, I'm starving," he commented, rubbing his stomach.

"Yeah, I could go for some food," Jack agreed.

Finally, it was time for all of the steerage passengers to head into the dining saloon for dinner. They all sat down together at a table in the back of the room, and were soon joined by Helga's parents. Olaf Dahl was a fierce looking man with a very fluffy light gray mustache, piercing blue eyes like his daughter's, and a full head of shaggy whitish-blonde hair underneath his cap. He was very protective of his only daughter, and constantly hovered over her. Johanne Dahl was nearly a head shorter than her husband, and didn't speak much. She had softer blue eyes and graying blonde hair pulled back in a bun.

They were also joined by a couple named Bert and Lauren Cartmell from England, and their 6-year-old daughter Cora. Cora had dark brown hair and a smile that could light up the darkest of rooms.

The steerage dining saloon was a spacious room with many tables, but appeared incredibly crowded due to all the strangers packed together. They were serving a small variety of dinner choices including soup, biscuits, boiled potatoes, and roasted pork.

"Hi, I'm Cora," the little girl announced to everyone, her small brown pools locking with Jack's bright seafoam ones.

"I'm Jack," Jack said with a smile, shaking her tiny hand across the table. He recognized her as the little girl who had been looking at the propellers with her father that he'd sketched that afternoon.

"You have pretty eyes," Cora told him.

"Thanks." Jack grinned. "So do you," he told her. Cora beamed.

Tommy took a large swig of beer and glanced over at Shannon. "I'd order the potatoes, except I'm bloody sick of the taste," he joked, tickling her foot under the table.

Shannon smiled and kissed him behind his left ear. "I think I'll get soup, it's been forever since I've had it," she said, softly rubbing his knee.

Fabrizio and Helga were making goo-goo eyes at each other across the table, and Fabrizio accidentally drooled a little bit of his beer onto his white shirt, making Helga giggle. Olaf glared at them, daring Fabrizio with his eyes to try and touch his daughter.

"Uh-oh, I a' make a mess," Fabrizio chuckled, dabbing at his shirt with a napkin.

"Du er silly," Helga giggled again, taking a spoonful of hot soup.

"Grazie," Fabrizio said with a wink. Helga smiled and continued to dreamily stare into his warm hazel eyes.

"Helga," Olaf warned, adjusting his gold-rimmed reading glasses, before pulling out some Norwegian newspaper he'd been looking at earlier.

"Jeg beklager, Pappa," Helga said, shyly looking down at her lap.

One of the waiters came by, and they all ordered their food. Jack tapped his fingers on the hard wooden surface of the table. "So we know each other a bit better in regards as to why we're all on the ship, let's find out some more stuff. How old are you guys?" he asked, directing his question at Tommy, Shannon, and Helga.

Tommy smiled. "I'm twenty-one," he answered.

"Eighteen," Shannon added.

"Meg også!" Helga chimed in, saying that she was also eighteen.

"Really?" Shannon asked, smiling happily at the Norwegian girl. Even though Helga didn't really speak English, Shannon thought she seemed like she'd be a good friend. It would be nice having another girl to talk to while Tommy talked to Jack and Fabrizio, she thought.

"Ja!" Helga exclaimed, returning the smile.

"How about you Jack? Fabrizio?" Tommy inquired.

"I'm twenty," Jack replied.

"Nineteen," Fabrizio grinned.

"Cool," Tommy smiled and took another swig of his beer.

"I'm six," Cora piped up.

"You don't look a day over five, lass," Tommy joked, making the little girl smile.

About twenty minutes later, their food arrived, and everyone scarfed it down quickly because they were all so hungry. After he finished eating, Jack stood up from the table. "I'm gonna go out on deck and have a smoke," he told them. "It was nice meeting all you guys, see you in the cabin Fabri," he added, taking a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it with his last match, before walking out of the dining saloon.

Fabrizio waved after Jack. "See you!" he called.

Mr. and Mrs. Dahl stood up. "Vi går tilbake til hytta vår." Olaf put his hand on Helga's shoulder, telling her that they were going back to their cabin.

Helga flashed her father a pleading look. "Kan jeg bo med Fabrizio?" she asked. She wanted to stay at the table a bit longer with Fabrizio.

Olaf grumbled under his breath and shook his head. "Nei," he snapped, pulling her out of her seat. He didn't like the idea of his precious only daughter running around with a man she'd just met, as he didn't know the young man's motives. He gently shoved her forward after her mother, and she shot Fabrizio an apologetic look.

Fabrizo managed a soft smile. "I see you tomorrow, bella Helga!" he called, waving.

Even the Cartmells were slowly rising out of their seats. Bert and Lauren said that they had heard some of the Irish passengers had instruments, and were going to play party music in the general room, and that there would be plenty of beer. They said that they were going to let Cora dance to a few songs to tire her out for bedtime. Tommy nodded and told them about Mick Hannigan, their roommate, who planned to play his pipes.

"Are you going?" Lauren wanted to know.

"I don't know," Tommy shrugged. "Wanna go, Shan?" he asked his girlfriend.

"I'm beat, but I suppose we could if you want to," Shannon replied with a shrug. She didn't really care either way.

"Nah, there's gonna be other parties I'm sure. I'm tired too, I'll just go out and have a ciggie and then we can go back to our cabin," Tommy decided with a yawn.

"Fine with me," Shannon agreed, smiling.

Tommy grabbed his coat that he'd draped over the back of the chair. "Hey, looks like Fabrizio left," he commented, nodding towards their empty seats.

Shannon shrugged and picked up her beer glass for one last sip. "I think he said something about going for a walk," she said, setting her glass back on the table and following him out of the dining saloon.

"Shite, I completely missed that," Tommy laughed.

"Eye, well listen better," Shannon teased.

When they reached the deck, Jack was sprawled out on a bench, smoking his cigarette and looking at the stars. Not wanting to disturb him, they went to a different corner of the deck.

"He looks relaxed," Tommy mused, lighting his cigarette.

"Yeah, he does," Shannon agreed. "Give me a drag before you finish that," she told him.

"Sure, just a minute," Tommy replied, blowing a cloud of gray smoke into the chilly night air.

Shannon went over and leaned against the rail. "The sea looks so calm, it's such a beautiful dark teal color, and the breeze feels nice. I bet it'd feel wonderful to sleep out here," she mused with a dreamy look in her eyes.

Tommy joined her and handed her his un-finished cigarette. "Here, take a puff," he said. He looked out on the ocean as well. "It's strange, the ocean we're sailing on is the same one we used to play in as kids back in County Donegal...yet it's taking us so far away," he commented with a nostalgic expression across his face.

Shannon had taken a quick drag and handed the cigarette back to him. "I never realized how big the Northern Atlantic really was," she said, sounding sad.

Tommy put his arm around her and rubbed her back gently. "Come on, sweet, we'll go back to our cabin," he said, throwing the cigarette overboard and leading her back inside the ship.

Shannon nodded tiredly. "Eye, okay," she agreed, as they walked down to G-deck.

Tommy opened the door to their cabin and they went inside to get changed into their nightclothes. "Want me to leave the room? Or can I watch?" he teased.

Shannon grabbed her nightdress out of their sole suitcase. "I don't care, you can watch if you'd like," she winked at him. She pulled her skirt off and started unbuttoning her blouse, slowly undressing herself until she was only in her underwear.

"You're a goddess, you are," Tommy whispered with a wily smirk.

"Am I?" Shannon giggled and pulled her nightdress over her head.

"Eye," Tommy laughed. He threw off his coat and unbuttoned his trousers, letting them fall around his ankles, exposing his underpants. Then he slowly unbuttoned his vest, leaving just his white shirt underneath. He noticed Shannon blushing bright red as she pretended to be looking at the floor. "I know you want this," he told her with a sly grin.

"Em..." Shannon awkwardly scratched the side of her face. She took out her hairpins and stored them safely in the pocket of her skirt so she'd have everything she needed all together when she put her clothes back on in the morning. Tommy just smirked again.

Shannon grabbed her diary out of the suitcase and crawled into bed. She flipped to the next clean page, and groaned loudly. "Oh shite, I knew I was missing something! I lost my pen," she said, slamming the diary shut.

Tommy laughed and kneeled down beside her bed. "Don't worry, sweet, I nicked this off the deck outside. Someone must have dropped it," he said, handing her a pen.

"I could kiss you right now," Shannon smiled, opening her diary again.

"Then why don't you?" Tommy smirked, leaning in close to her face.

"Because I want you to kiss me first," Shannon said, backing away from him.

"Eye, so you want me to come get you, eh?" Tommy asked, climbing onto the bed with her and kissing her hard on the lips. He started to tickle her and she tried desperately to squirm out of his grip, giggling hysterically as she tried to slap him off of her.

Finally after about ten minutes of blissful agony, Tommy stopped, leaving her panting as she tried to catch her breath. "You absolute arse!" Shannon exclaimed, hitting his arm.

Tommy bust out laughing. "You loved every minute of it and you know it," he argued, softly stroking her hair.

"Anyways," Shannon interjected with a smile. "I'm going to write about today's adventures in my diary now," she said, opening the diary and writing the date at the top of the page.

"Okay," Tommy said. "I'll just sit next to you and watch," he told her.

She smiled at him and started writing:

_April 11th 1912_

_Today Tommy and I boarded the Titanic. I'm starting to really miss Ireland and my family but we met some really cool people, and the ship is wonderful. The skies are clear and the ocean is so blue... it's beautiful out here._

_As much as I feel homesick and nostalgic, I can't wait to see what America is like._

_That's all for now,_

_Shannon Maureen O'N._

"There," she said with a satisfied nod.

"That's all you're gonna write?" Tommy tisked at her. "Let me add something," he insisted.

"Okay, go ahead," Shannon handed him the diary, a bit uneasily.

_P.S... Tommy is a god. _

"There, now it's complete." Tommy smirked.

"I can't believe you just wrote that!" Shannon giggled.

Tommy laughed and pulled her closer to him, kissing her forehead. "So I was thinking, about tomorrow..." he started, looking unsure of himself.

Shannon cocked an eyebrow. "What about tomorrow?" she asked curiously.

"This whole Joseph thing, it's strange... I think we should try and sneak up there," Tommy said.

"Like, sneak up to first class? To do what, spy on him?" Shannon inquired.

"Yeah. What do you think?" Tommy wanted to know.

"I suppose... but what if we get caught?" Shannon looked a bit uneasy about the idea of breaking the rules.

"I don't know yet, we'll figure it out after breakfast or something," Tommy decided, yawning tiredly. It was only about 7:30, but they were exhausted after travelling all day. "I'm gonna get some sleep, night Shanny," he whispered, kissing her softly before crawling out of her bed and climbing up the ladder onto his own.

...

Tommy lay awake in the top bed, staring at the ceiling. He kept tossing and turning as he tried to get comfortable in the tiny bed. His mind wandered to thoughts of his brother, and his extreme fury towards him for abandoning them with not even a shred of guilt. He knew that his brother had always been very ambitious and viewed himself superior to the other village children, but he'd never expected him to completely disown his family and keep all of his wealth to himself. That was low, Tommy thought, even for someone as shallow as Joseph.

Then there was the whole Billy O'Roarke thing. Was Joseph delusional? Or were the two of them playing some sort of sick game where Billy really was still alive? Tommy couldn't answer that question, but he swore to figure it out.

Just then, he could hear a soft sniffling as if a girl was crying into her pillow, and he peeked his head over the side of the bunk. "What's the matter, Shanny?" he asked his girlfriend worriedly. He didn't know what had caused her sudden distress, but it pained him to hear her crying like that.

Shannon looked up at him and wiped her nose on the sleeve of her frayed white nightdress. Her eyes were red and bloodshot, and she sniffled again. "I...I don't like this," she managed to choke out. She looked exhausted, yet something was obviously keeping her awake.

"What don't you like?" Tommy asked in a whispery breath, sitting up in his bed.

"I-I haven't had a bed to myself since I was three years old. I've always shared with Rhiannon. I don't like being down here all alone, I-I'm cold, and I miss my little sister. A-And now I've put poor Rhiannon through this, too, now she is cold and alone and afraid b-because I left her...I'm a horrible sister," Shannon continued to weep softly into her pillow.

Her family had been so poor back in Ireland, that Shannon had never had the luxury of her own bedroom, much less her own bed. For as long as she could remember, her little sister had always been pressed into her side, snoring softly into the darkness. Shannon cried harder, remembering the look on Rhiannon's face the night before. The last night they had slept in her bed together. She could still see the peeling periwinkle paint of their tiny bedroom, still feel the soft floral sheets of the bed, and still smell the mixture of must and vegetables that lingered throughout her family's run-down cottage.

Tommy had been to the O'Neal cottage on several occasions. They were one of the poorest families in the village. Tommy remembered how whenever Shannon would come to his house, she was always hungry because her parents could only afford two meals per day; breakfast and supper. His own family wasn't much better off, but his parents could at least afford to feed him until he was mostly full. While the O'Neals were poor in terms of money, they were quite wealthy when it came to family relationships. Tommy had always been a bit jealous at how close her family was, since his own had seemed to be crumbling around him ever since Joseph had left. He knew that Shannon and Rhiannon were as close as two sisters could possibly be, and he hated seeing her suffer like this.

"Shh, sweet, it's okay," Tommy whispered, climbing down the ladder and crawling into the lower bed beside her. It was a tight squeeze, but Tommy was able to fit up against the wall. "I know you don't wanna be alone in the bed, so I'll stay right here," he promised, soothingly stroking her long strawberry blonde hair that was sprawled out on the pillow.

"I-I'm a horrible sister," Shannon repeated through shuddering sobs.

"No, no, sweet. Don't say that. Rhi doesn't think you're a bad sister for leaving, she just wants you to be happy. She'll be just fine, and so will you, because there is absolutely nothing to fear with me right here next to you," Tommy said soothingly.

Shannon didn't say anything, but she scooted closer and snuggled against his chest, blowing her nose into his nightshirt. Tommy noted that she seemed a bit more content being snuggled up against him, but she still wasn't asleep. "Want me to tell you a story like your dad used to tell?" he tried, remembering Bobby O'Neal's fantastical tales of battling dragons and saving princesses and being outsmarted by leprechauns on the beautiful island of Éire.

Still, Shannon didn't speak, but she did manage a weak nod. Tommy grinned to himself, happy to be holding her in his arms, and began his story. "All right, so once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess named Seana. She had fair strawberry blonde hair and eyes as blue as the sea. She was the prettiest girl in all of Éire. One night, an evil dragon named Joseph stuck his head through her bedroom window and kidnapped her, carrying the poor princess off into the night to his dark lair, where he planned to eat her for supper," he began, waiting for her reaction. He thought naming the dragon after his brother would be a good fit.

Shannon clung tighter to his shirt and buried her face in his chest. Tommy chuckled softly and stroked her face. "The king and queen didn't know what to do, but luckily for them, the brave knight named Timothy knew exactly how to handle the situation. Not only was he brave, but he was also very handsome. He had fluffy light brown curls atop his head and the most charming hazel eyes you ever did see. He was in love with the princess, and told the king that if he saved her, he wanted to marry her," he said, pausing again to see if she'd catch on to what he was doing.

He looked down to see her smiling faintly into his shirt. "If it wasn't obvious enough already, I'm making the story about us," he whispered. "I've always wanted to rescue you from an evil dragon," he added, softly kissing the top of her head. It was true, as a young lad, he'd always dreamed of sweeping the beautiful elder daughter of Bobby O'Neal off her feet.

She giggled softly and nodded for him to go on. "Timothy grabbed his favorite shield and his sharpest sword, and rode off through the hills to the evil dragon's lair. He slayed the beastly creature in ten minutes flat, before carrying Princess Seana off into the sunset towards the kingdom to marry her, oh...and they lived happily ever after, too," Tommy finished his story with a wide grin across his face.

This time, Shannon lifted her face enough to plant a soft kiss on his lips. "Tommy, could you sing to me?" she asked him quietly.

Tommy smiled and started stroking her hair again. "Anything for you, Shanny, what do you want me to sing?" he whispered back.

"Too Ra Loo Ra," she said, snuggling into his chest again and closing her eyes.

"All right," Tommy agreed, rubbing her back in a circular motion as he began to sing.

__Over In Killarney,  
Many years ago,  
My Mother sang a song to me  
In tones so sweet and low;  
Just a simple little diddy,  
In her good old Irish way,  
And I'd give the world to hear her sing  
That song of hers today.__

__Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li,  
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Hush now don't you cry,  
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li,  
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, It's an Irish lul-la-by!__

__Oft, in dreams I wander  
To that cot again.  
I feel her arms a-hugging me  
As when she held me then.  
And I hear her voice a humming  
To me as in days of yore,  
When she used to rock me fast asleep  
Outside the bedroom door.__

____Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li,  
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Hush now don't you cry,  
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li,  
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, It's an Irish lul-la-by!____

______Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li,  
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Oh Shanny please don't cry!  
______

Tommy looked down at Shannon to see if his song had worked. She was breathing softly, and there was an expression of utter bliss across her tear-stained face. He smiled and gently wiped the tear streaks away, kissing the top of her head again. Just as he was about to close his eyes, hers opened again.

"I don't know what I'd do without you," she whispered.

"And I don't know what _I'd _do without _you_," he whispered back.

Shannon's eyes closed again and she nuzzled her head into his chest. Tommy watched her for a few moments, wondering how in the world he'd been fortunate enough to capture the heart of the sweetest girl in their village, until his own eyes could stay open no longer. Both of them drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

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Tell me what you think!


	4. Sneaky Shenanigans

**A/N: I'd like to thank spikessweetgirl75, NoScrubs4Me, Moment For Life, and the guest reviewer Olivia for their nice reviews! Enjoy this next chapter :)**

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_S__neaky Shenanigans_

_Friday, April 12th, 1912._

The following morning, Shannon's eyes slowly fluttered open, and she found herself in a warm embrace with Tommy. She faintly remembered how he'd sung her to sleep, and smiled to herself as she gently stroked the side of his face. Tommy opened his eyes at her touch.

"Sleep all right, Shanny love?" he asked softly, stroking her sweaty strawberry blonde hair that was sprawled out against their pillow.

"Yeah I did, especially after you sang to me," she replied quietly, pecking him on the lips.

Tommy grinned and rolled over on top of her, intensifying the kiss. "I'm starving, but I think these sugary sweet lips of yours probably taste better than anything they'll be serving down at breakfast," he mumbled between kisses.

Shannon smiled against his lips, linking her arms around his neck. "I wish we could just lay in bed all day like this," she giggled as she ruffled his bedhead of light brown curls.

Just then, they heard Mick grumble sleepily from across the room. "You two mind? Still trying to sleep." He rolled over onto his side and huffed. Below him, Brenna hadn't stirred, apparently unaware of the noise they were making.

Tommy stifled a laugh as he softly kissed his girlfriend's forehead. "Let's go get breakfast, we'll let Mister Crab-apple sleep," he joked, crawling out of the bed and scrambling into his gray trousers that he'd left on the floor.

Shannon swung her legs over the side of the bed and slipped on her long teal skirt. She reached into the pocket and took out a few hairpins, quickly pinning her hair up in a haphazard bun. "Eye, let's," she laughed, pulling her nightdress off over her head and slipping back into her white blouse.

Tommy finished buttoning his vest, and then grabbed his bowler hat. "Come on, sweet, I think I heard some people in the hallway saying there's fresh eggs," he said excitedly, stepping into his shoes.

Shannon's eyes lit up in delight. "Let's go see!" she exclaimed happily, slipping on her own shoes and following him out of their room.

They made their way to the third class dining saloon again, where they spotted Jack sitting alone at a table in the back. He appeared to be sketching something as he lightly stirred his coffee. As they walked closer, he looked up and smiled at them.

"Good morning," he said, picking at his piece of buttered bread.

"Did you sleep well, Jack?" Shannon asked, sitting down across from him with a sleepy yawn. Tommy plopped into the chair beside her and stretched his arms out.

"Actually, well, it's a long story..." Jack replied, chuckling as he took another sip of his coffee.

"What does that mean, Jack-o?" Tommy asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow at the American artist.

"I didn't get much sleep last night because I was busy talking this gorgeous first class girl out of jumping off the back of the ship, is what that means," Jack told him. "More specifically, Tommy, this goregous first class girl that you said I was as like to have angels come out of my ass before she'd even talk to me," he added with a smirk.

"No feckin' way!" Tommy exclaimed, slamming his hands down on the wooden table. He could scarcely believe what his new friend had just said.

"I'll let you two duke this out while I go get our food," Shannon laughed, standing up. She walked off to go find one of the third class waiters.

Jack grinned and took a bite of his bread. "It's true. Her name is Rose DeWitt Bukater," he said.

Tommy smiled and shook his head. "So why the hell was she trying to jump off the ship?" he asked.

"I don't know, she didn't really say... but she must be pretty damn miserable about something," Jack replied with a shrug.

"So how did you talk her out of it?" Tommy demanded curiously.

"I just insisted that she'd regret it if she jumped because the water was so cold, and that if she did jump I'd have to jump in after her. Plus she seemed pretty tentative about it, she had plenty of time to jump before I even approached her, so I had a feeling she wouldn't have done it anyways," Jack explained calmly.

"So then what happened after that?" Tommy wanted to know, a twinkle of disbelief in his eyes.

"Well I started to pull her back over, but then she slipped and I had to save her, and we sort of landed in a heap on the deck. Some officers came running because they heard her screaming and caught us in our unfortunate position. Of course the Master-At-Arms was called and I got handcuffed for 'trying to take advantage' of her. Then her fiancé came out on deck and started yelling at me, but Rose saved my ass. She made up a story about leaning too far over to see the propellers and slipping. So they all thought I was a hero...which I guess I sort of was. Rose and I had a silent agreement, since I didn't tell them she'd been trying to commit suicide, she dismissed the false accusations of those nosy officers. Her fiancé completely changed his attitude and invited me to dinner in first class for tonight...he still seemed snobby but he did also seem to be genuinely grateful," Jack told him, still smirking as he ate his breakfast.

Just then, Shannon came back to the table carrying two plates of eggs and buttered bread. She set one of them down in front of Tommy, who was staring at Jack with his eyes wide and mouth agape.

"The waiter's bringing us tea and some porridge," she said. "What in the world did I miss?" she asked with a smile, noticing the looks on her boyfriend's and Jack's faces.

"Apparently Jack-o here got invited to have dinner up in first class tonight... he wasn't joking about saving that rich girl," Tommy said, shaking his head as he took a bite of his bread.

"Oh, wow." Shannon smiled as she took a forkful of eggs. Suddenly, one of the waiters walked over to their table and placed mugs of piping hot tea as well as bowls of porridge in front of her and Tommy. "Thank you so much," she said, smiling. The waiter nodded and left to bring another passenger some coffee.

Tommy blew on a spoonful of porridge. "This is good," he commented with a satisfied nod.

Jack was finishing off his own plate of food and downed his last sip of coffee. "So what are you two going to do today?" he inquired, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

Tommy glanced at Shannon, who nodded knowingly. "We're going for a walk around the ship..." Tommy said as Shannon shifted awkwardly in her seat. It wasn't a complete lie, they would be going for a walk to get up to first class, but Tommy had cleverly left out the part about spying on his estranged brother.

"That's cool," Jack said.

"Yeah, it looks nice outside," Shannon nodded.

Just then, Fabrizio entered the dining saloon. Seeing them, he smiled and walked over, sitting down beside Jack. "Is a nice morning, yes?" he asked happily.

Tommy grinned at him across the table. "It's a fine morning indeed," he agreed.

Fabrizio smiled again, but then his expression turned a bit sad as he glanced longingly across the room. The Dahl family had just walked in, and Olaf had made sure that they took the last three seats at the very end of a crowded table. "I no think Helga's papa like me very much," he said, looking down at his lap.

Jack gently patted his back. "Don't sweat it, ragazzo mio, look... Helga's looking at you. She doesn't seem very happy about it either," he said reassuringly.

"Sì, I know." Fabrizio nodded. "I talk to her after breakfast," he decided, smiling again.

"That's the spirit," Tommy said. Shannon smiled and sipped her tea.

"So are Björn and Olaus awake yet?" Jack inquired, wondering why their Swedish roommates weren't at breakfast yet.

"Sì, they should a' be coming soon," Fabrizio replied, his eyes wandering towards the doorway. "Here, they walking in now," he said, nodding over towards a blonde haired man and a light brown haired man walking in their direction.

"Have you guys met the Gundersons yet?" Jack asked Tommy and Shannon. They shook their heads.

"Hei, Björn Gunderson," the blonde man said, shaking hands with Tommy and then Shannon.

"Olaus Gunderson," the other man said, also shaking their hands.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Tommy Ryan," Tommy replied, briskly returning the hand shakes.

"I'm Shannon O'Neal, his girlfriend," Shannon added, smiling at the two Swedes.

"Vi kommer att beställa vår mat," Björn smiled and said that they would go order their food, and walked away to find a waiter with Olaus follwing behind him.

Tommy and Shannon finished their breakfast quickly, as they were eager to come up with a plan on how they would get up to first class and spy on Joseph. By the time the Gundersons returned, Tommy had cleaned his plate and Shannon was on her last sip of tea.

Tommy grinned and stood up from the table. "Here, you guys can have our seats," he offered.

Olaus nodded and sat down with his own plate. "Tack," he said, taking a giant bite out of his Swedish bread.

"Yes, we're done eating," Shannon smiled, allowing Björn to take her seat.

"Tack," Björn thanked her, sipping his tea.

"No problem," Tommy nodded, waving at them as he walked towards the doors with Shannon on his heels.

"See you guys later!" Jack called after them as they left the dining saloon.

Once they were safely out of sight, and earshot, Tommy gently backed his girlfriend into a dark corner near one of the stairwells. "Okay, so I've got a plan on how we can sneak into ol' Joey's cabin," he whispered with a wily smirk across his face.

Shannon giggled softly. "What is it?" she asked curiously.

"Okay so we find some steward and stewardess outfits. I'll pretend I'm bringing some tea to Joseph's room but I got lost and also dropped my keys somewhere, and get one of the real stewards to help me out. You'll be in the same hallway acting as if you're going to clean one of the rooms. As soon as Joseph's door opens, I'll leave it ajar and you sneak across the hallway and enter right behind me. Then we can hide in his closet and listen to what he's up to," Tommy explained in a low whisper.

"All right, that's a good plan," Shannon agreed in a hushed voice.

"Shh, come on then," Tommy said with a sly grin.

"After you," Shannon replied with a whispery giggle.

...

They had managed to find one of the crew supply closets, and nicked two spare outfits. After a quick stop in their cabin to change, they headed up to first class. "Now I just need to find a tea cart," Tommy mused, looking around as they passed the first class kitchens.

Suddenly, Shannon spotted one sitting unattended in the middle of the hallway. "Look, grab it," she whispered sharply, nodding towards the abandoned tea cart.

Tommy quickly shuffled across the hallway and steered it in the opposite direction, whistling nonchalantly as he walked. He nodded over his shoulder, telling Shannon to stay a few feet behind him as she followed.

Now all they had to do was find another steward to help them get into Joseph's room, wherever it was. They turned around and walked down another long hallway when suddenly, they finally spotted another steward coming out of one of the rooms.

"Jackpot," Tommy grinned, motioning for Shannon to continue down the hallway without him. "Excuse me, Sir!" he yelled, approaching the other steward slowly.

"Yeah?" the other steward, a chubby man with a red mustache, asked.

"I was bringing some tea to a Mister Joseph Ryan's room, but this ship is so big I got lost, and to make matters worse...I think I must've dropped my keys somewhere because I suddenly can't find them," Tommy explained, praying that his story was convincing.

"Ah, I believe Mister Ryan's room is just around the next hallway. I think he's out right now, but I'll let you in," the other steward assured him with a jovial grin. He led the way down the next hallway, and Tommy winked at Shannon. She was pretending to knock on one of the cabin doors.

They reached Joseph's door and the steward unlocked it. "Thanks," Tommy nodded, pushing the tea cart inside.

The steward nodded and walked back in the opposite direction. "Not a problem," he called over his shoulder.

As soon as he was out of sight and earshot, Tommy craned his neck down the hallway. "Come on!" he hissed, as Shannon scurried into the room behind him. He shut the door quickly and left the tea cart in the middle of the room. "Hurry we've got to find somewhere to hide," he whispered, glancing all around the spacious first class room.

"His closet's in here, let's go!" Shannon pointed out, scurrying into Joseph's bedroom closet.

"I think I hear him coming!" Tommy whispered, rushing into the closet after her and closing the doors softly.

Sure enough, the door clicked open and the voices of two men could be heard talking in low tones. As soon as the door shut, the voices got louder. They could pick out Joseph's voice, but the other voice was unfamiliar, although he did sound as if he too had an Irish accent.

"So he's working with someone else from Ireland?" Shannon whispered into the darkness of the closet.

"Sounds like it but I don't know who the hell it is, I can't see a feckin' thing," Tommy grumbled as he tried to discern the other voice.

"Here, lift me up and I'll look through the little space above the doors," Shannon suggested quietly.

"All right," Tommy agreed, helping her to step up on his hands. He held her ankles and she used the top of the closet to balance herself. "Can you see anything?" he asked softly.

"Not very well... but there's definitely another man in the room. I think Joseph's the one on the left," Shannon whispered back, squinting through the narrow gap.

"Shh...let's just listen to what they're saying," Tommy murmured, stepping closer to the door.

_"Yes, that's what I've been telling people." _

_"And there's no one who could possibly figure it out?"_

_"Well..." _There was a slight hesitation. _"No, no I don't believe so."_

_"Why the hell did you hesitate?"_

_"Look don't worry about it. The point is, he's gone, and now we can go to America and cash our loot. We'll live the rest of our days like the happy sons of bitches we are."_

_"Yes I realize all of that, but why the HELL did you hesitate?"_

_"Shut up about it. No one will find out, calm down."_

_"Answer my bloody question or I'll do the same thing to you that we did to him!"_

_"Fine...I ran into my little brother and his girlfriend yesterday...they're traveling in third class."_

Hearing this, Shannon lost her balance and fell backwards on top of Tommy, causing both of them to miss the next thing that was said. "Mrs. O'Leary's arse!" she cried out. That was a common exclamation used by many of the kids back in their village, referring to a chubby old lady by the name of Mrs. O'Leary who lived across from the local pub.

Tommy stifled a laugh and smacked his forehead. "Shh!" he whispered sharply. They could hear footsteps approaching from outside the closet.

_"What the feck was that?"_

_"You go hide somewhere in case someone's in here, I'll investigate."_

"Feckin' great," Tommy groaned.

"Sorry!" Shannon snapped.

The closet doors were thrown open, revealing Joseph in a crisp beige suit with a brass colored bowtie. "Well, well, well... look what the cat dragged in," he taunted, harshly grabbing Tommy by his collar and slamming him against the closet door. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded, his cold amber eyes gleaming with pure malice.

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Please let me know what you think so far! Feedback means the world to me! :)


	5. Dark Secrets Emerging

**A/N: This chapter goes out to spikessweetgirl75, Ilma, NoScrubs4Me, and the guest reviewer Elizabeth... thanks for supporting this story, it truly means so much to me! :)**

**Carrick Mooney's faceclaim is Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson! (He's going to be in a movie in 2015 with Saoirse (so I thought putting him in this would be cool) plus I love the fact that he played Bill Weasley and that he's Irish!)**

**Warning: Mild sexual tension at the end of the chapter.**

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_Dark Secrets Emerging_

"Get your hands off me, you slimy bastard," Tommy growled. He kicked Joseph hard in the knee, causing the latter to let out a sharp yelp of pain.

"Not until you tell me what the hell you two are doing hiding in my closet!" Joseph hissed. He clutched his leg and rubbed some dirt from Tommy's shoe out of his slacks.

"Oh let him go, you miserable arse," Shannon interjected, glaring pointedly at the elder of the Ryan brothers. "If you must know, I'll tell you," she said. She was sick of all the pointless fighting and arguing, and just wanted to get straight to the problem itself.

"Then hurry up and tell me, you filthy wench," Joseph spat, smirking maliciously at his brother's poor little girlfriend.

"Don't you feckin' talk to a lady like that, especially MY lady!" Tommy yelled, curling his fist to deck his brother in the jaw. However, right when his fist would have collided directly with Joseph's lower lip, Shannon grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"You'd be a right eejit to do that to him right here, in his room, in first class. He'd have the Master-At-Arms in here faster than you could say potato," she scolded in a low whisper.

Joseph smirked at them. "Yes, Tommy boy, listen to your precious little Shanny. If you get arrested, you might never get to America," he teased his brother.

Tommy glared at him. "Feck off, you son of a bitch," he muttered, backing up a few steps.

"Very good, little brother, you're learning quickly who's the alpha here," Joseph patronized him. Tommy didn't respond but continued to glare angrily. "Now, I believe your little girlfriend was about to say what the hell you were doing up here?" Joseph said, looking at Shannon.

"We were spying on you, there, we admit it," Shannon replied flatly.

"That part is obvious, I want to know what you were hoping to achieve in doing so," Joseph snapped harshly.

"Why the hell should we tell you anything?" Tommy interrupted angrily.

"Because this is _my _room. In first class, no less. So if you don't, I'll have no other option but to call in the Master-At-Arms to take you to the Captain on the charges of not only sneaking into first class, but disguising yourselves as crew members, and then breaking into a first class cabin," Joseph explained simply.

"Oh yeah, say we're doing illegal things, you bloody hypocrite. From what I heard of that conversation outside, it sounds like you're aren't up to any good either," Tommy said accusingly.

"Just answer the damn question or I swear on Saint Patrick I'll have you out of here whether you like it or not," Joseph growled, a menacing twinkle in his eyes.

"Fine, we were spying because you said that you were meeting Billy O'Roarke in America. Billy was found murdered in his house in Wales, or so we heard back home from Mister and Misses O'Roarke themselves, and I think they'd know better than anyone considering he was their son. We wanted to know how in the world you could be meeting someone that doesn't even exist," Tommy admitted with a defeated shrug. He decided to calm down and give Joseph what he wanted, as another plan was already forming in his head.

"I never said I was meeting Billy in America, you must've heard incorrectly," Joseph stated quickly, avoiding eye contact.

"No actually, Joseph, we heard you just fine," Shannon piped up indignantly.

Tommy nodded his agreement. "What sort of shady business are you involved in now, eh? There's something going on here and we're going to find out what it is," he said.

Joseph's eyes grew big in shock, before flashing with anger. "You need to stay the hell out of my business and out of my life. Whatever I'm doing is my own damn business and is of no concern to paupers like you. All right? Now get the feck out of here or you'll regret it," he threatened, finally stepping to the side so they could exit the closet.

"Gladly," Shannon huffed. "Oh and Joseph, go feck a sheep," she said, before turning on her heel and stalking towards the door, stealing a little cake off the tea cart on her way out.

"Feck you," Tommy grumbled, brushing past his brother and storming out of the cabin, taking the tea cart with him.

Joseph stared at the doorway for a few seconds, shaking with complete and utter fury. It was then that his partner-in-crime, Carrick Mooney, decided to re-emerge from the shadows.

Carrick shook his head angrily. "Oh this is fecking fantastic, your little shite of a brother _does _know, and his pathetic little wench too!" he snapped, shoving Joseph against a wall.

"Relax will you? Jaysus. They don't _know _a damn thing. My brother is suspicious because he caught me in the lie that we were going to meet Billy in America, he has no fecking clue that it was actually _us _who murdered the son of a bitch. I plan to keep it that way, no matter what it takes, so calm the hell down," Joseph whispered harshly, shoving Carrick off of him and onto the parlor sofa.

"You better keep it that way, or I'll slit your throat just like you did to Billy," Carrick threatened, his fists clenched on either side as he got up from the sofa.

"That's funny, now you sound just like Billy," Joseph mused with a smirk, crossing his arms and walking to the other side of the room.

"What? He never threatened us," Carrick said, confused.

"No, I didn't mean it like that. I meant how he was always ordering us around," Joseph clarified with an eye roll.

"Oh, yeah." Carrick nodded and sat down in one of the chairs.

"Yeah." Joseph leaned against the wall and lit his pipe. "Damn, we really gave Billy boy what he deserved, didn't we?" He chuckled and blew out a thin cloud of dark gray smoke.

"Eye, he deserved it all right, the self-centered bastard," Carrick agreed with a nod.

Five years before, when Joseph had run off to live in Wales with Billy, it hadn't started out as everyone had suspected. Billy had started his own trading business with his inheritance from his father called _O'Roarke &amp; Company_, and hired Joseph and Carrick as his personal assistants. He and Joseph had met Carrick at a bar in Donaghadee, County Down on their way to Wales.

Instead of treating them like business colleagues, Billy had considered them his personal servants. Joseph and Carrick had been under the impression that they would have equal shares in the company, but as it turned out, all he'd had them do was perform degrading tasks. Billy had them at his beck and call, from organizing meetings to bringing him his morning coffee. They had been trapped under his thumb.

Needless to say, the two young men had grown tired of it quickly. However, instead of just quitting and going home, they had been deranged enough to murder the poor unsuspecting bastard in his sleep. Neither of them wanted to go back to living in poverty, and they had figured murdering Billy and taking over his business was the quickest way to get rich.

Once they had committed the crime, they knew that they couldn't hang around Wales for long before people would begin to suspect them, so they booked first class tickets on the Titanic. The reason they had chosen to sail on the Titanic in the first place, was that there were a handful of incredibly wealthy businessmen aboard, whom they hoped to cheat out of some extra cash. Namely JJ Astor and a Mister Caledon Hockley.

They were planning to expand the business in New York City by making shady deals with local companies. They were pretending that Billy was already in New York waiting for them, in an attempt to conceal what they had done. Once they racked up enough loot, they planned to retire so that they could just sit back and never have to work again, and continue to enjoy lives of luxury and wealth for the rest of their days.

Everything had been running smoothly thus far, until Joseph had encountered his brother. Tommy and Shannon knew that Billy wasn't waiting in America, because they had been among the few people who had heard the news directly from the O'Roarke family. As much as he hated to admit it, Joseph was scared of the consequences if the truth came out.

"Damn you, Tommy boy," he muttered under his breath, allowing more dark smoke to escape his lips and cloud the air of the first class suite room.

"Say something, Joey?" Carrick asked with a devilish smirk, looking directly at his skittish partner. His beady green eyes meeting Joseph's distant amber ones.

"I damned my brother, what's it to you?" Joseph snapped at him, finishing his pipe and chucking it against the wall.

"So you are nervous," Carrick mused, a wily grin spreading across his face.

"Never said I wasn't, you damn eejit," Joseph huffed angrily.

"But just a few short moments ago you seemed so confident that you'd be able to keep him from finding out what we did," Carrick reminded him, crossing his legs.

"I still am confident that I can keep them out of the loop... it's just nerve wracking that my fecking brother is even on this ship," Joseph told him, rolling his eyes.

"Yes but it shouldn't bother you if they're here so long as you can keep them quiet... admit it, Joey, you're afraid that they're going to find out," Carrick demanded, standing up and striding across the room to stand directly in front of his partner.

"I'm not admitting anything, Carrick. Now shove off or else," Joseph hissed, pushing his associate away.

Carrick simply smirked and went over to open a bottle of red wine. He could read Joseph like an old book, and it was very clear to him what his partner was feeling. He knew that allowing Tommy and Shannon to find out what they had done was out of the question.

"Just know this, partner, if you let your shitehead little brother and his silly little wench figure out what we've done...I'm serious about slitting your throat. I did it once and I'll do it again," he threatened, taking a long sip of the delicious wine and then licking his lips. It was really just an empty threat. He was only looking to get a rise out of Joseph.

Joseph glowered at him, taking the threat seriously, that their situation really was every man for himself. His partner didn't care who he had to take out to get rich, and he wasn't about to be cheated out of his half of the wealth. He'd been the one to provide the blade that they had slit Billy's throat with, after all, so he wanted his equal share.

"And I'll shoot you in the neck while you're sleeping, don't feckin' play games with me," he countered, his eyes flashing in fury again, as he stormed over and pinned Carrick against the wall. "I know what you're trying to do, you want to get rid of me too so you can have all the loot for your own sorry arse, well it doesn't work that way," he hissed, making Carrick cringe at his breath that reeked of stale whiskey and pipe smoke.

Carrick shook under his grip. "Put me down, you feckin' bastard. I wasn't really going to do anything...Jaysus," he muttered, kicking Joseph hard in the leg. He knew better than to try anything on his crime-savvy colleague, but swore to make him sorry if he failed their cause.

Joseph scowled and released him. "Get the hell out of my cabin," he hissed, pushing him towards the door.

"Hang on, hang on... let's not get ahead of ourselves here. Look, we're partners in this, we need to trust each other," Carrick protested, holding up his arms defensively. He couldn't deny that Joseph's skills were incredibly useful and that they worked best as a team.

"Fine. I'll do my best to keep my nosy brother in the dark, and I promise not to shoot you in the neck if you don't try and slit my throat, eye?" Joseph agreed, extending his hand. He'd always admired Carrick's determination, and had to admit that the man had excellent ideas. He agreed that they definitely worked best as a partnership.

"Agreed. Partners?" Carrick asked with a grin, clasping his partner's hand firmly.

"Always," Joseph nodded, feverishly shaking Carrick's hand.

"So, shall we sit with Hockley or Astor at dinner tonight?" Carrick asked, a wily smirk dancing across his wine-stained lips.

"Definitely Astor, he's the richest man on the ship, you know," Joseph decided, a crooked grin spreading across his face.

...

Tommy and Shannon had put the tea cart back where they'd found it. However, instead of retreating back to third class, they were executing Tommy's back up plan that he'd come up with after being caught by Joseph.

They were hiding at the end of the corridor underneath one of the stairwells, waiting to see if they could catch a glimpse of the other man when he exited Joseph's room. Neither of them had recognized the other voice, and they were determined to get to the bottom of whatever was going on. They had already been waiting for about 45 minutes, and were starting to get impatient.

"What the hell could they be talking about for so long?" Tommy mumbled under his breath, shaking his head.

"I have absolutely no idea," Shannon replied, tiredly rubbing her eyes. "Your brother is such an arse," she ranted, still incredibly pissed off about Joseph's snobby attitude.

"You can say that again," Tommy grumbled, still extremely infuriated at his brother for countless reasons.

"He's an arse," Shannon giggled. "Anyways-," she continued, "-we need to figure out who that other man is and which room he's staying in, and then we'll need to come up with more ideas for how to spy on them..."

"Shh, slow down, sweet," Tommy laughed and held his finger up to her lips. "Eye, you're so sexy when you try to play detective, you know that?" he asked slyly, leaning in close and gently backing her against the wall. His warm breath against her neck sent tingles down her spine, and she let out an airy giggle.

"Do you think so?" she asked teasingly, feeling his stiffness against her leg.

"Eye," Tommy whispered, kissing her softly on the lips. He intensified the kiss as he hoisted her up to straddle him. Shannon mumbled something inaudible against his lips as she started to ruffle his hair.

Suddenly, the click of a door handle being turned could be heard from down the hall, and then the creaking of a door opening and closing. Then...footsteps. "Oh shite, hurry!" Shannon panted, breaking their embrace and peering around the corner. Tommy did the same.

Coming towards them from the direction of Joseph's room, was a man in a finely tailored navy blue suit with an ivory colored bowtie. He had vibrant ginger hair and alert green eyes, as well as mischevious smirk across his face.

"Who the feck is he?" Tommy wondered aloud.

"No one from our home town, that's for sure," Shannon mused with a shrug.

He didn't look familiar in the slightest to either of them. Their curiosity was immediately sparked to crack the case of whatever dirty business Joseph and this unfamiliar man were up to.

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	6. Convenient Allies

**A/N: Thanks NoScrubs4Me, spikessweetgirl75, Blairx6661, and the guest Ana for reviewing! **

* * *

_ Convenient Allies_

As Carrick walked past them, Tommy and Shannon jerked their heads back under the stairs. They watched him enter a room that was about nine doors down on the opposite side of the hallway from Joseph's room. He shut the door behind him, not even noticing that he was being watched.

"Can you see the cabin number?" Tommy whispered.

"I think it says C-23, and that would make sense if we counted the doors correctly, because on the way out I noticed that Joseph's was C-14," Shannon whispered back, squinting.

"Yeah, I think you're right," Tommy agreed. "Once again, good eye, Shanny." He grinned and pecked the top of his girlfriend's head.

Suddenly, they heard more footsteps coming down the hallway. Mr. Thomas Andrews, the ship's architect, was doing his daily patrol about the ship to make sure everything was running smoothly. He checked something off on his clipboard and muttered to himself as he passed the stairs. Just then, he stopped in his tracks, and did a double take.

"Stewards! What do you think you're doing?" He crossed his arms with a stern expression across his face.

"Uh, we were just..." Tommy stammered, cutting himself off. _Shite, we're still in these uniforms!_

"Get back to work," Mr. Andrews scolded, tisking as he checked off something else on his clipboard.

"We should probably go change," Shannon said, giggling at her boyfriend's startled expression.

Tommy nodded meekly as they slowly crept out from underneath the stairwell. They took the elevator back down to third class and somehow managed to sneak back to their cabin before any of the other passengers had a chance to see them dressed like crew members.

...

They had changed back into their regular clothes, and were now sitting on Shannon's bed together, thinking of their next plan. "That whole steward and stewardess stunt we just pulled off is way too risky to try again, and Joseph will be expecting us to try the same type of thing again anyways, so we need to think of a different way to spy on them," Tommy was saying.

Shannon was laying on her back, her legs across Tommy's lap as he rubbed her bare feet. "Hmm... I don't know," she mused thoughtfully. "However, I think that trying to hide in his closet again would be a bad idea," she said.

"Yeah, because you'll fall again and he'll call the Master-At-Arms on us," Tommy teased her.

"Ha, ha, ha." Shannon rolled her eyes at him.

"Anyways-" Tommy laughed, "-we _need _to find out who that other man working with Joseph is, because it's definitely not Billy O'Roarke," he said in a low whisper.

"So how in the world do you plan to...wait," Shannon cut herself off. "I have an idea. Isn't Jack going up to have dinner in first class tonight?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah, what does that have to do with...oh," Tommy interrupted himself. "I get it. We can ask Jack to spy for us." He nodded with a wily grin.

"Not only spy, he could actually _talk _to them for us," Shannon reminded him with a sly smile of her own.

"That's fecking brilliant, Shanny, you're a genius," Tommy told her, a devilish smirk across his face.

"Thanks." Shannon let out a whispery giggle and sat up, pecking him softly on the lips.

Tommy slid himself out from underneath her legs and stood up. He reached into their suitcase and checked the time on his grandfather's old watch, to see that it was already three minutes to noon. "Come on, it's time for lunch. Let's see if we can't implore ol' Jack-o to help us out," he decided, extending his hand and gently pulling Shannon to her feet.

Shannon nodded and slipped her shoes back on. "All right, right behind you," she said, following him out of the cabin.

They made their way up to the steerage dining saloon and went inside. Tommy scanned the room for any signs of the blonde artist, but came up short. Jack Dawson was nowhere to be seen.

Tommy shrugged and nodded towards the closest empty table. "Let's just eat really fast and then we can look around the general room," he said, pulling out a chair for his girlfriend.

Shannon smiled at him. "Thanks," she said, sitting down.

"Of course, sweet. To tell you the truth, I'm really not even that hungry," Tommy laughed, plopping down into the chair across from her.

"Me neither, let's just split some cheese and buttered bread," Shannon suggested.

"Good idea, and I think I'll throw in pickles, too," Tommy decided. A few minutes later, a waiter came and they ordered bread and butter, cheese, pickles, and a cup of tea for each of them.

Shannon absent-mindedly traced circles on the wooden table as they waited for their food. "So... what should we say to Jack? Like, should we tell him the whole story? Or just parts?" she mused, looking up into her boyfriend's warm hazel eyes.

Tommy rubbed his forehead. "Hmm... I think we should tell him the whole story, but leave out the more personal details," he decided after a few seconds of deep contemplation.

"What do you mean?" Shannon asked him.

"Like we'll just give him the basic chain of events and explain why we're suspicious, then we can ask him to talk to them for us at dinner and get more information," Tommy explained.

"All right, I think that's a good plan," Shannon agreed.

After about ten minutes, the waiter came back and brought their food. They ate quickly, before heading to the general room to look for Jack. Tommy scoped out the entire area, but still didn't see him.

"Where the hell could he be?" He grumbled as he checked around the room again. Nothing.

"There's Fabrizio and Helga on that bench over there, maybe they know where Jack is," Shannon suggested, nodding towards a bench near the stairs in the back of the room, where a dark-haired man was making hand gestures at a blonde girl who was sitting across from him.

"Yeah, let's go ask 'em," Tommy agreed, following his girlfriend across the room.

As they approached the bench, Fabrizio and Helga looked up and smiled at them. "You sit down, eh?" Fabrizio offered, gesturing towards the bench across from the one he and Helga were sitting on.

Shannon shook her head. "No thank you," she declined politely. "Actually, we came to ask if you know where Jack is," she explained.

"Yeah, we wanted to talk to him about something," Tommy added.

"Oh, 'a 'dis first class girl with red hair, she come down just before lunch to 'a speak with him an' he follow her," Fabrizio told them with a shrug.

"Hun er sparkly," Helga piped up, referring to the elegant jewels the young lady had been wearing when she'd come down looking for Jack.

"Was her name Rose?" Tommy pushed, remembering the story Jack had told him over breakfast.

"Sì, he a' save her from falling off 'da ship I think," Fabrizio replied with a smile.

"Do you know where they went?" Shannon asked him.

"I 'a think she take him up to 'da first class deck, she said she want to talk to him alone," Fabrizio explained.

"Thanks, we'll go see if we can find them," Tommy said with a grin, as he turned to follow Shannon towards the stairs that led up on deck.

"Don' mention it!" Fabrizio called after them, before going back to his conversation with Helga.

...

They ascended the stairs up to the first class deck, completely ignoring the sign that read '**Third Class Passengers Are Not Allowed Beyond This Point**', and looked around for their artist friend.

It was now close to 1 o'clock in the afternoon. The sun gleamed a bright orangey-yellow color high in the sky as it radiated down onto the sparkling turquoise waves, warming them. A cool breeze blew across the deck.

"I don't see him, they're probably already on the other side of the boat deck," Shannon mused.

"So how are we gonna find him? We're not allowed up here so any passing officers could chase us off," Tommy asked with a groan.

"That's true, em...hmm...I have no idea." Shannon shrugged helplessly. She was out of ideas.

Suddenly, as if God was granting them a miracle, Jack rounded the corner. He was accompained by the same ginger-haired girl that they had seen looking miserable from her spot at the first class rail the previous afternoon.

Tommy waved his arms wildly. "Oi, Jack-o!" he yelled.

Shannon smacked her forehead. "Hush you eejit!" she whispered harshly. If there was a way to get themselves kicked out, Tommy would find it.

Luckily, Jack had noticed, and was now striding across the deck towards them. "Hey there," he laughed. "This is Rose DeWitt Bukater, the girl I was telling you about," he told them. "Rose, this is Tommy Ryan and his girlfriend Shannon O'Neal, they're friends of mine I met yesterday," he introduced everyone.

"Nice to meet you," Tommy grinned, shaking Rose's hand.

"Yes, and I love your shoes, by the way," Shannon added, smiling as she too shook her hand.

"Thank you," Rose said. "It's lovely to meet you both." She looked sort of shy but kept smiling.

"So... what are you two doing up here anyways?" Jack asked them curiously. "You do realize this is the _first class _deck."

"You're up here, aren't you?" Tommy asked with a smirk. "No, we were looking for you. We need a favor since you're going to eat in first class tonight," he explained. His expression was one of complete seriousness.

"I see," Jack replied with a nod. "So what sort of favor do you need?" he wanted to know.

"Well, it's sort of complicated, so I'll spare you the details and get straight to the favor. My brother, whom I haven't seen in five years, is on the ship. He's traveling in first class with some other man we don't recognize at all, and Shan and I think they're up to no good. The reason we think that is too complicated to get into right now. We ran into him yesterday and have been trying to spy on him, but we haven't been able to solve this mystery yet. So, we were hoping that you could try and talk to them at dinner, find out what their plans are for America and stuff," Tommy explained.

"His brother's got dark brown hair and bright amber eyes, he's tall and obviously speaks in an Irish accent. The other man is red-haired and also has an Irish accent. We don't know the other man's name, but Tommy's brother's name is Joseph," Shannon added.

Jack and Rose were both listening intently. "So you just want me to get to know them for you?" Jack asked for clarification.

Tommy nodded. "Yeah, pretty much," he said.

"Sure, I guess I could do that." Jack shrugged. "But I'm not sure how or when to approach them," he added, looking a bit unsure of himself.

"Well, there's always socializing time before everyone actually sits down at their tables to eat. If they're businessmen, perhaps Cal knows them," Rose pointed out.

"All right, so you'll come with me?" Jack asked, glancing at Rose.

"Yes," Rose replied. She looked at Tommy and Shannon. "We'll both help," she said, smiling.

"Thanks so much." Tommy grinned.

"Bless your souls," Shannon agreed.

"Wait, but if I'm gonna do this, I have one condition," Jack interjected.

"What's that, Jack-o?" Tommy asked, looking a bit nervous.

"I want to know the whole story when I get back," Jack insisted, curiosity sparkling in his bright seafoam pools.

"Fine, deal," Tommy agreed, firmly shaking Jack's hand.

"Cool." Jack flashed him a goofy smirk. "Well, I'll see you guys later then," he said, linking arms with Rose.

"It was nice meeting you," Rose said with a smile.

"You too, see you later, Jack-o." Tommy nodded and tipped his bowler hat.

"Bye." Shannon waved as they continued on their walk around the boat deck.

They stood there for a moment, before rushing back through the third class gate, as not to be chased off by the passing officers. As soon as they were back in the general room, Shannon reached into the pocket of her skirt and pulled out one of the little cakes she'd stolen off the tea tray that they'd brought to Joseph's room.

Just as she was about to eat it, Tommy snatched it out of her hand and plopped it into his own mouth. "'ts good, thanks." He flashed her a wily smirk.

"You arse!" Shannon exclaimed, throwing her arms up in exhasperation as she let out a faint and airy giggle.

"Eh, I can live with it," Tommy laughed.

"Well jokes on you, because I have another one," Shannon said, reaching into her skirt pocket again. Suddenly, she realized that it wasn't in there. "What the...?"

Tommy cracked a huge grin. "I stole that when we were shifting* under the stairwell waiting for Joseph's partner to walk by," he whispered slyly.

Shannon's eyes widened. "You...you...double arse!" she yelled, playfully smacking his shoulder.

"Hey, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, and this one wanted himself a cake," Tommy smirked with a casual shrug.

"You're no man, you're a pig," Shannon giggled, softly pecking him behind his left ear.

"Have it your way, a pig's gotta do what a pig's gotta do," Tommy joked, pulling her close to him and kissing her lightly on the lips.

* * *

*Shifting is an Irish slang word referring to the art of 'making out', at least according to the internet it is XD

This was really more of a filler chapter, but the part where they asked for Jack's help is an important piece of the plot. Please let me know what you think of this so far-your feedback is awesome! :)

...also, there's a poll on my profile for anyone who would like to vote on which (if either) of the Ryan brothers survives the sinking! (I think I already know the outcome, but I'd be interested to see your votes, who knows... I could always change my mind!)


	7. Hidden Feelings Coming to Light

**A/N: Sorry this took so long, I was working on a different story and then I had to come up with more ideas for this, so I really hope you enjoy this next update!**

**Shout out to Moment For Life, spikessweetgirl75, NoScrubs4Me, and Olivia for reviewing! I LOVE your feedback :D **

* * *

_Hidden Feelings Coming to Light_

They had decided to go back to their cabin for a while. Shannon was sprawled out on her bed and Tommy was propped up against the wall beside her. Tommy smiled as he gently stroked the side of his girlfriend's face. "You're missing Ireland again," he stated matter-of-factly.

Shannon looked at him. "How did you know that?" she asked.

"I can see it in your eyes." Tommy shrugged.

"Yeah, I am," Shannon admitted with a sniffle. "I'm already starting to miss my family and living in the village, and it's only been two days. I wish we could go back to the shore and throw pebbles in the ocean again, or chase Rory through the streets because he caught us shifting, or..." she trailed off.

Tommy gently held his finger to her lips, shushing her. "Shh, I know, sweet. I miss all of those things too, that's why we're going back very soon. It's only for a few years, I promise you less than five, and we'll send for our families to come visit once we're in Chicago," he told her soothingly.

"Tommy, I'm scared..." Shannon whispered uneasily. "What are your plans for when we actually arrive in Chicago?" she asked him.

"Don't fret my love. I'm going to find a well-paying job... one that will get us back to Dunfanaghy as soon as possible. See, back home they'll respect me for traveling so far and I'll probably be offered better work when we return, so I just need to find a respectable job that pays good. I told ye I'd like a job working with the boats on the harbor, those are good jobs if I can get one." Tommy explained calmly.

"But how are we even getting to Chicago?" Shannon wanted to know. "We've barely any money," she pointed out.

"Don't worry your wee pretty head about it. I'll figure everything out once we dock in New York," Tommy promised, kissing her softly. "We'll be fine no matter what because we've got each other, and you and I are invincible together, Shanny."

"Okay, I believe you," Shannon let out an airy giggle, snuggling up against him.

"You better believe me, sweetheart, because everything is going to be great," Tommy whispered, grinning as he wrapped his arms around her.

Shannon gazed into his warm hazel eyes as Tommy stared back into her bright blue ones. They both leaned in for another kiss, and as their lips connected, the two Irish sweethearts felt completely blissful in their embrace.

Suddenly, their cabin door creaked open. "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph... can't I walk in here just once without finding you two shifting?" Brenna let out an exasperated sigh as she made her way over to her bed, muttering something to herself about having to share a room with horny youths. They jumped apart, beet red.

"Sorry, Ma'am," Tommy mumbled, awkwardly scratching his left ear.

"We'll leave," Shannon offered, sitting up and brushing a loose strand of her long strawberry blonde hair out of her face.

Tommy nodded in agreement. "So do you want to go sit out on the deck?" he suggested, holding out his arm.

Shannon smiled softly. "Yeah, that's a good idea, the breeze felt really nice before," she said, accepting the gesture.

Brenna just rolled her eyes and put on her reading glasses. "Eye, finally some peace and quiet," she muttered, shaking her head.

They made their way out onto the third class deck and sat down on one of the benches. Once again, the sunshine was bright and warm as it radiated down onto the sparkling turquoise waters, and there was a nice breeze.

Tommy put his arm around his girlfriend and grinned. "Have I told you yet today how much I love you?" he asked.

Shannon smiled and rested her head against her boyfriend's chest. "Not yet," she replied with a giggle.

"Well then, I love you all the way across the farthest of oceans, all the way to the moon and back, and more than me mam's berry pie," Tommy whispered with a wily smirk.

"What?" Shannon giggled again.

"I love you a lot," Tommy told her with a sly grin.

"I know, I love you a lot too." Shannon took off his bowler hat and planted a soft kiss behind his ear.

"I love you more," Tommy insisted, softly pecking her on the lips.

Just then, they heard more footsteps coming towards them. It was Fabrizio and Helga taking a leisurely late afternoon stroll around the deck. "Hey you two!" Fabrizio greeted happily.

Tommy looked up at him. "Hey there!" he yelled back, waving them over.

"So a' what you all up to this fine evening?" Fabrizio asked with a grin.

"Oh not much, just sitting around and enjoying the cool sea breeze," Tommy replied with a shrug.

"Join us if you'd like, it feels lovely," Shannon chimed in, smiling.

Fabrizio glanced over at his Norwegian sweetheart. "We sit down, eh?" he suggested, gesturing towards the empty space on the bench across from Tommy and Shannon.

Helga smiled with an eager nod. "Ja!" she exclaimed, taking a seat. Fabrizio grinned and sat down beside her.

"So how was your walk around the deck?" Tommy asked, leaning back more against the bench.

"It was molto bello...very nice," Fabrizio replied happily.

"Ja," Helga agreed, smiling as she rested her head on his shoulder.

There was an awkward silence as the four of them just sat and enjoyed the cool evening air. Shannon, who always felt a bit uncomfortable when no one was talking for an extended period of time, broke it first. "So... what do you guys want to talk about?" she asked curiously, snuggling closer to Tommy as a particularly cold gust of wind blew across the deck.

Fabrizio scratched his chin as he considered her question. "You guys believe that Jack really save that first class girl?" he wanted to know.

Tommy thought about it for a second and shrugged. "I dunno, he says he did, so I suppose I believe him since he's given me no reason not to," he said.

"Sì, an' Jack never lies so I believe him too," Fabrizio told him. "I a' just can't believe 'da first class girl come back down here to see him," he added.

"Hun er sparkly," Helga repeated her earlier statement about the ginger-haired girl being clad in the finest designer clothes and jewels.

"I know, I loved her shoes," Shannon agreed with a giddy smile. Helga nodded eagerly.

"Oh a' I almost forget, you looking for them before, sì? You ever find them?" Fabrizio asked.

"Yeah, we found 'em, thanks fer asking." Tommy smiled at him.

"Of course." Fabrizio grinned.

Meanwhile in first class, Joseph was pacing around his cabin. He poured himself a glass of wine and downed it quickly, before throwing it on the floor and letting it shatter into hundreds of tiny pieces. _I'm going mad...insane... I can't do this anymore... _He lit his pipe and grabbed his journal and his favorite fountain pen, going over to sit at the parlor room desk.

He had a secret that not even Carrick knew about; all of the dark secrets and lies were starting to get to him. His hand was shaking as he began to write:

_April 12th 1912_

_I don't know how much more of this I can take. It's only a matter of time before someone finds out what Carrick and I have done. In the beginning all of this felt so right, it was our way of survival so we wouldn't have to crawl back to a life of poverty, but now everything is starting to come apart. Every single night Billy O'Roarke haunts my dreams, screaming in my face 'But Joey, we're best friends! Spare me! No!', just as he had the night I murdered him. _

_Billy was a horrible, despicable man. He was no good friend of mine, he simply used Carrick and I to do his bidding. All I was to him was a personal servant. Can you blame us for slitting the self-centered bastard's throat? I think not. But still... a part of me deep inside regrets what I've done, and everything that I've done since. I almost wish I could just back out now before matters really get out of hand, but if I surrender now, then I'll never amount to anything. Besides, Carrick would murder me next if he even suspected that I was considering backing out, out of fear that I'd tell of our crime._

_My goal from the start was to become as rich as I could as fast as I could. This life of crime has proven to be quite beneficial... Carrick and I eat like kings, we have the best clothes, and people in the business world respect us for our success. No one else knows how we got where we are today, and it is crucial that it stays this way. But I can't help wanting out... I'm afraid of what will happen to me if I stay in this sick game much longer. Even if we manage to escape prison, we won't escape hell._

_My worst fear is that I'll go so insane that I'll admit to everything we've done, and then we'll really be screwed for the rest of our miserable lives. The guilt is eating away at me, no matter how hard I try to push it away and conceal it, I cannot. I keep remembering my family who's starving back home while I eat nine course meals almost every night, and my friendship with Billy when we were both innocent young lads untainted by ambition, and I just want to curl up and scream until my voice is gone. _

_Speaking of my family, I ran into my brother Tommy on the ship. Haven't seen the wee bloke in five years and he just happens to be traveling down in steerage with his little sweetheart, the elder O'Neal sister, and they're already suspicious of me after they caught me in the lie that I was meeting Billy in America when they knew of his murder. This whole thing is so complicated at this point, I don't think I'd be able to make my family understand even if I tried. That's why I've left them alone and haven't reached out to them all these years, I don't want to raise any more unnecessary suspicion. It's not just the fact that we'd definitely lose everything and end up in prison if anyone found out, but it's also the shame of it all. My poor pathetic parents would have heart failure, and Tommy would make sure that I never see the light of day again._

_I am a horrible, despicable, disgusting person. The part of me driven by selfish ambition keeps telling me to ride this wave until the very end and collect as much gold as I can carry, but the part of me that knows the difference between right and wrong is bombarding me with guilt and paranoia. And to make matters even worse, I'm starting to suspect that Carrick might be... in love with me. Yes, that's correct. The bloke hangs onto every word I utter...and there's this lustful look in his eyes whenever I'm around him. It's sickening. I think he's the one who's insane here, but his insanity is rubbing off on me. __I can't do this anymore, but I'm in too deep...there's no way out now._

Joseph slammed his journal shut and threw it against the opposite wall. He didn't know what to think or feel anymore. Just then, his door opened, and Carrick re-emerged with a file folder. "Here's that information we gathered on Astor last week, let's discuss our next scam," he said, plopping himself down on the sofa.

"What?" Joseph was caught off guard.

"I said, here's that information we gathered on Astor last week, let's discuss our next scam... are you all right?" Carrick cocked his eyebrows suspiciously.

"Oh, yes, I'm fine." Joseph nodded quickly.

"Well all right then," Carrick continued. "So I was thinking we go up to Astor at dinner tonight and challenge him to a game of poker," he suggested.

"And how is that a scam?" Joseph wanted to know.

"It's easy, being the card sharks we are, we'll cheat him out of all the cash he bets...which will likely be a lot," Carrick explained.

"That's a good plan." Joseph nodded his approval as he lit his pipe. "What about that Hockley guy?" he asked with a sly smirk.

"Don't worry, I have an idea for him too. I heard he's traveling with quite an expensive piece of jewelry called the Heart of the Ocean that he plans to give his fiancé. Of course he'd never bet it since it's an engagement gift, so I say we figure out a way to steal it. His old man Nathan spent a fortune on it, as in borrowed money from Hockley Steel to be able to afford it. So if that goes missing...Hockley Steel is in some hot water, and we can buy it right out from under him, expanding our business empire into the steel industry. You see, I heard that Big Nate's been making some extravagant purchases to feed his fancies these past few years, and has had to take out some loans in the company. He's already on the way to bankruptcy, so we should snatch it up before he drives it into the ground," Carrick told him, a glimmer of pure malice in his beady green eyes.

Joseph flashed him a wily grin as he blew out a thin line of cigar smoke. "Eye...ingenius," he agreed, going over and pouring two glasses of red wine.

Carrick chuckled as he stood up and walked over to stand beside his partner. "Thanks," he said, accepting a glass and taking a swig. "I think we've got good things going for us, don't you?" he asked.

"What the hell does that mean?" Joseph snapped, suddenly remembering his suspicions about his partner having feelings for him.

"It means that we'll be rich in no time," Carrick replied, confused. "What the hell did you think I meant?"

Joseph waved dismissively and gulped the last of his wine. "Nevermind," he muttered.

Carrick shrugged and pulled a photograph out of his coat. "Anyways, look at this," he said. "It's that necklace we need to swipe from Hockley," he added.

Joseph's eyes widened at the photograph of the beautiful blue diamond necklace. It was so sparkly. "Feckin' shite...that's a bloody nice necklace that is," he agreed, gently tracing the edges of the photograph. "So how are we going to steal it?"

Carrick grinned. "We can get him really drunk during the poker game after dinner and keep dropping hints about the necklace, then maybe he'll give us some details about the necklace's wherabouts. If he does, we'll figure out a way to steal it without getting caught. If he doesn't, perhaps his safe is in the cargo hold and we can go snooping around there one night while we're pilfering through some of the other first class luggages," he explained.

"Eye, that's a real good plan. I like it," Joseph agreed, clinking his empty glass against his partner's half-full one.

"I thought you would," Carrick chortled with an evil grin.

It was now after four o'clock in the afternoon and evening was quickly approaching. Out on the third class deck, the conversation had shifted to the after-dinner steerage party.

"We didn't go last night, but I heard tonight's is supposed to be even better. Apparently most of the Irish passengers were too tired last night since they'd been traveling all day, but everyone's going to be all riled up for it tonight," Tommy was saying.

"Sì, I am a' so excited... a' should be fun," Fabrizio agreed excitedly.

"I hope they play Bill Sullivan's Polka," Shannon said, smiling at her boyfriend. "Do you remember when we danced to it at Ricky's birthday party?" she asked him.

"Of course I do, it's as if it were only a few months ago," Tommy replied with a grin.

"It _was _only a few months ago, you adorable eejit," Shannon giggled, kissing him behind his ear again.

"Oh, yeah, right," Tommy chuckled sheepishly, his face reddening a bit.

Fabrizio cracked a sly smile. "You two a' make me laugh," he said.

Helga giggled. "Ja," she agreed. "Du er funny."

Another cool breeze blew across the deck. "I don't have me granddad's watch with me, but it's probably getting close to dinner time, I wonder what they're serving tonight..." Tommy mused aloud.

Fabrizio shrugged. "I a' don' know, but is not going to be as good as what Jack will be served up in 'da first class I'm sure," he said.

"Couldn't a said it better myself, they probably eat like royals up there," Tommy laughed.

"Look on the bright side, love, at least it isn't your mam's potato porridge," Shannon teased him.

"Eye, you got a point there, sweet," Tommy chuckled, shaking his head.

Fabrizio cracked another smile. "Stop it, you make me bust a gut," he snickered. Helga just smiled, confused. She'd lost the conversation when they'd started talking about the first class dinner.

Out in the distance, the sun began to set in a vibrant pinkish red color over the darkening waves. All the talk about dinner up in first class made a thought pop into Tommy's head, and he glanced over at Shannon. She squeezed his hand and smiled at him as if to say she knew what was going on in his mind.

They were both praying that Jack would be able to get some answers on Joseph's sketchy behavior, because in all truth, no matter how angry Tommy was at his brother...he was beginning to worry about his mental state. Whatever presumably illegal things Joseph and his mysterious partner-in-crime were up to, they wanted to figure it out.

* * *

Let me know what you think! :) It's 1:08 AM here but I couldn't live with myself if I didn't update this after like what...15, 16 days? LOL :P


	8. Dinner, Dancing, and Spying Part I

**A/N: Thanks so much to Moment For Life, spikesweetgirl75, ScreamingInside, NoScrubs4Me, Olivia, and penelope lemon for your nice reviews! It means a lot :)) **

**I'm SUPER sorry that I took so long to post this chapter..and then took it down for editing, lol. It was supposed to be a MEGAchapter but I changed my mind and decided to just split up the original contents (with edits) between chapters 8-10. Although I guess it's still a pretty long chapter...lol. **

**Any recognizeable dialogue isn't mine. **

****Also, not a huge plot twist but still a plot twist... I randomly decided that Rose should have a little sister, Roxanne for anyone who's read Break Loose, after finally finding the perfect Roxanne faceclaim. It's Jennifer Stone who played Harper in the Disney show Wizards of Waverly Place (more specifically her when she was like 14 in season 1). Yeah, this isn't relevant to the main storyline, but since there's some Jack/Rose stuff in this chapter I just thought it would be cool to throw that in XD**

* * *

_Dinner, Dancing, and Spying Part I_

They talked on the deck for awhile, and then as it started to get late, they all decided that it would probably be a good idea to head back inside. Fabrizio and Helga were the first to stand up.

"Come, dolce Helga, I take you to your mama and papa," Fabrizio said, extending his arm. He figured he'd better get Helga back to her father before Olaf hated him even more for keeping his daughter too long.

"Ja, greit." Helga smiled softly and linked her arm in his.

"I see you later!" Fabrizio yelled, waving as he left to escort Helga back to her cabin.

"See ya!" Tommy waved back, grinning.

"It was nice talking to you," Shannon added with a smile.

Once their friends had disappeared back inside the ship, Tommy glanced at his girlfriend. "Do you want to go back to the cabin?" he asked. "Maybe Mrs. Hannigan left so we'll have it to ourselves again for a bit before supper," he added with a sly wink.

Shannon bit her lip and smiled at him. "All right," she agreed. She knew what he was hinting at, and could already feel the sensation of a thousand butterflies flittering about in the pit of her stomach.

Meanwhile, Jack had just left the suite room of a nice first class lady named Molly Brown, who had loaned him a tuxedo to wear during dinner. He navigated his way through the first class corridors until he came to a door leading to the top floor of the Grand Staircase area.

One of the first class stewards in a black tuxedo opened it for him. "Good evening, Sir," he greeted.

Jack nodded at him, smiling faintly. He didn't really know what to say, as he wasn't used to being called sir. He looked around at the room's stunning architecture; the large glass dome above the staircase, the intricate carvings around the clock, the statues at the bottom of the stairs, and the beautiful red oak panelling and iron and gilt-bronze banisters of the staircase itself, and thought that it would be an interesting scene to sketch.

All around him, passengers dressed in their finest evening attire strutted towards the dining room, their arms linked with those of their significant others. He stepped onto the main floor and stood beside a pillar at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for someone in Rose's party to show him where to go. Suddenly, he heard somewhat familiar voices, and looked up to see Rose's mother Ruth DeWitt Bukater and fiancé Caledon Hockley coming down the steps, arm-in-arm.

A young girl with dark red hair absent-mindedly trailed behind them. Her hair was up in an elegant bun and she wore a dark purple colored dress with black lace. Jack noted that she looked familiar from when he'd met Ruth, Molly, and the Countess on deck earlier, but he hadn't been introduced to her because Ruth wouldn't let her say anything.

"Hello," he greeted coolly, extending his hand for Cal to shake.

"Dawson!" Cal exclaimed, shaking his hand. "Why...you could almost pass for a gentleman," he commented in an arrogant tone, a shocked expression across his face at how well the third class rat fit in. Ruth let out a snobbish giggle.

"Almost," Jack replied dryly, slightly offended at the other man's arrogance. "Isn't Rose coming?" he asked. He'd expected to see her with them.

"She'll be along," Cal replied casually, before he and Ruth sauntered off to say hello to the Countess of Rothes, leaving the other girl standing there awkwardly with Jack.

"Hi, I'm Roxanne," the girl told him, shifting nervously on her feet and managing a faint smile. "Thanks for saving my sister," she added.

"I'm Jack Dawson, nice to meet you. Rose didn't tell me she had a sister, but I can definitely see it." Jack returned the smile. "And there's no need to thank me, it was my pleasure. She's the most extraordinary girl I've ever met," he said dreamily.

"Yeah, she's a good sister. She had a lot of nice things to say about you too, I think she likes you better than that obnoxious prick Hock-"

"ROXANNE!" Ruth shrieked, beckoning her younger daughter to follow.

"Sorry, Mr. Dawson, I better follow them..." Roxanne muttered, waving as she went and joined Ruth and Cal.

Jack let out a low snicker and waved back. He glanced back up the stairs again, and noticed Rose had just emerged on the top floor. She caught his eye and smiled at him as she made her way down the stairs. She wore a dark reddish-maroon colored evening gown and her vibrant ginger locks were up in an elegant wavy bun.

She stopped on the last step, directly in front of him. "You look dashing, Mr. Dawson," she teased him.

"And you look stunning this evening, Miss DeWitt Bukater," Jack retorted with a silly smirk.

"Why thank you," Rose said, extending her hand. Jack brought it to his lips and kissed it softly.

"I saw that in a Nickelodeon once and I always wanted to do it," he explained with a faint snicker. Rose giggled.

"I see you've met my little sister Roxanne," she said. "She's fourteen and has quite a sharp tongue already."

"Yeah, she's funny." Jack grinned.

"You'd never know it because Mother never lets her speak. She knows if she does, she'll say something sarcastic and embarass her," Rose giggled.

"I can see that," Jack laughed.

"Well come on, we've got some spying to do, yes?" Rose flashed him a mischevious grin. It was rare, or rather never, that she got to do something like this. Despite the presumed seriousness of the matter, she was sort of excited to get the dirt on the two mysterious Irishmen she'd seen walking around first class.

"Definitely," Jack agreed. He offered her his arm, which she graciously accepted, and let her lead him down another set of stairs behind her sister, mother, and fiancé.

They entered a large room with white walls, large windows with ornate designs etched in the glass, and potted palm trees. The passengers were scattered about the room, either chatting within their respective circles or fluttering around to talk to different people.

Rose pointed out several important people; the Countess of Rothes, who was currently talking to Captain Smith, John Jacob Astor-the richest man on the ship and his pregnant teenage wife Madeleine, which was apparently quite the scandal, Benjamin Guggenheim and his mistress Madame Aubert, and Sir Cosmo and Lucille Lady Duff Gordon.

Jack nodded along as he scanned the room for two men that fit Shannon's descriptions. Suddenly, he spotted them, and gently nudged Rose. "Look," he whispered, nodding towards the far side of the room, where a dark-haired man was discussing something in hushed tones with his red-haired partner.

"I think that's them. I remember the other day the dark-haired one walked past me on the way to breakfast and he was muttering to himself, it sounded like he had some sort of accent," Rose said.

"Let's watch them for a minute," Jack suggested.

"All right," Rose agreed.

Joseph and Carrick stood near the entrance to the first class dining room, watching all the other passengers go by as they sorted out their next diabolical plot. "Eye, there's Astor..." Joseph mused, taking a sip of his brandy.

Carrick merely nodded. "An' there goes Hockley, the sonofabitch..." he slurred, sloshing his brandy around in the glass.

"Remember," Joseph said, "We can't go giving away any personal information about ourselves, 'ts too risky."

"Right, that would be a right foolish thing to do indeed," Carrick agreed, nervously fidgeting with his bowtie.

"So there's Astor, we're gonna go up and make conversation with him. Without telling him too much, we'll get to know him a bit, and then we'll challenge him to a poker game after dinner in the smoking room," Joseph explained, going through their plans in his head.

"Right you are, Joey. Then Hockley is over there; we can invite him to play too, and we'll get 'im drunk enough to spill some details about that necklace he's carrying around," Carrick added with a satisfied nod.

Down in third class, Tommy and Shannon had gone back to their cabin, and had been pleased to find that they were once again alone. "Eye, Shanny...I could shift with ye all day and never get tired of it," Tommy whispered as he started to take his shirt off. He'd already thrown his vest to the other side of the room.

Shannon smiled faintly and kissed his bare chest. "Tommy, we can't do this right now," she said in a whispery giggle.

"Come on, we have a few minutes before supper starts," Tommy pleaded. His eyes held a wily twinkle as he climbed on top of her.

"No...it's not that...I-I'm just not..." Shannon stammered as she tried to find the right words. "Please, put my skirt back down..."

"What is it, sweet?" Tommy prodded, kissing her softly as he fixed her skirt. He looked a bit dejected.

"I'm sorry, I know ye want this so bad...and I want to give it to you, I really do, but I'm still afraid of what it'll feel like," Shannon admitted, the distress and self-agitation evident in her voice.

"I know that, I'm sorry fer pressuring you. We'll do it when you're ready," Tommy said, hopping off the bed and retrieving his vest. He put it back on and re-buttoned his shirt, going back over to sit beside his girlfriend on the bed.

"It's all right, I shouldn't have led you on like that." Shannon smiled softly at him.

Tommy shook his head. "No more apologies. I suppose I was just tryin' to get some stress relief, all this shite with Joseph really has me on edge," he told her.

Shannon merely nodded. "I completely get it. Joseph's acting very strange, and even though you aren't getting along right now, it's only natural that you'd worry about him," she said quietly.

"It's like we aren't even brothers anymore. He's always been an arse to me, but it was never this bad when we were children," Tommy mused, a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Shh, it's all right, love. Whatever they're up to, we'll figure it out," Shannon promised as she tenderly stroked his unruly light brown curls. "Here's your stress relief," she said, planting a soft kiss on his lips.

Back in first class, Jack and Rose were still watching Joseph and Carrick as they whispered amongst themselves. From their distance, they followed the two mysterious Irishmen into the elegant first class dining room, watching as they walked over to talk to John Jacob Astor, who was standing beside his wife near a table.

Rose glanced at Jack. "I wonder what they're saying," she mused quietly.

Jack shrugged. "I dunno. Let's get a bit closer so we can listen in," he suggested.

"That's a good idea," Rose said, following him.

"Shh, over here," Jack whispered, motioning for her to stand beside him near one of the tables. They drowned out all the other sounds in the room so they could hear the conversation that Tommy's brother and his partner were having with the Astors.

_"Excuse me, are you the one they call JJ Astor?" _Joseph asked, striding up to the mustached gentleman.

_"Why yes," _Astor replied_. "And who might you gentlemen be?" _he asked curiously.

_"Joseph Ryan," _Joseph replied, cordially shaking Astor's hand.

_"Carrick Mooney," _Carrick piped up, also shaking his hand.

_"Pleased to meet you, gentlemen, and this is my wife Madeleine," _Astor said, gesturing at the young lady on his arm.

_"It's a pleasure," _Madeleine said as both Joseph and Carrick kissed her hand_._

_"So what is it that you gentlemen do?"_ Astor wanted to know.

_"We're businessmen," _Joseph replied coolly.

_"I've never heard of either of you before," _Astor commented._ "Are your families well known?" _he wanted to know.

Carrick was about to answer his question, when Joseph sharply nudged his arm._ **"Hush ya eejit! I specifically told you not to give away any personal information, our names being the sole exception!"** _he hissed under his breath. Carrick nodded and muttered an apology. They suddenly realized that JJ and Madeleine were giving them a weird look.

"Did he just whisper what I thought he whispered?" Jack looked over at Rose.

"What?" Rose was confused.

"It sounded like he was telling him not to give away any personal information other than their names," Jack explained. "That's sort of strange..." he mused, keeping in mind what Tommy and Shannon had said about them being up to no good.

"Oh, I didn't hear that," Rose said. "How could you hear that? It doesn't look like either of the Astors heard him and they're standing right there."

Jack shrugged and flashed her a silly grin. "I'm a good listener."

Rose giggled. "Apparently so."

Jack gently nudged her. "Come on, we need to go over there," he said.

Rose nodded. "Yes, follow me," she agreed. "JJ! Madeleine! I'd like you to meet Jack Dawson," she interjected, walking over to them. Joseph shot a sideways glance at Carrick and shrugged.

"Hello, Jack." Astor smiled.

"Hello." Jack shook his hand.

"How do you do?" Madeleine smiled politely.

"Very well, thanks," Jack replied, kissing her hand as he'd done to Rose.

"Are you of the Boston Dawsons?" Astor asked him curiously.

"No, uh, the Chippewa Falls Dawsons, actually," Jack said, looking a bit uneasy.

"Oh yes." Astor simply nodded. "Have you two met Misters Joseph Ryan and Carrick Mooney yet?" he asked, changing the subject. He nodded towards the two Irishmen, who had gone back to conversing quietly amongst themselves.

Rose smiled brightly at them. "No, we haven't," she answered. "How do you do, gentlemen?" she asked politely, causing both men to look up again.

Joseph nodded stiffly. "We're very well, thank you," he answered. His Irish accent was clear as day.

"So who might you be, Miss?" Carrick asked, curiosity dancing in his bright green pools. He also had an obvious Irish accent, they noted.

"Rose DeWitt Bukater, pleased to meet you," Rose answered, allowing him to kiss her hand.

"Yeah, it's a pleasure," Jack chimed in, shaking Carrick's hand.

Astor smiled at them. "Well, we're going to sit down; it was wonderful meeting you, gentlemen, and you as well Mr. Dawson. Lovely as always to see you, Miss DeWitt Bukater," he said, starting to lead his wife towards their table nearby to sit down.

Joseph glanced at Carrick and nodded. "Wait, Sir!" Carrick called, causing Astor to turn on his heel again.

"Yes, Mr. Mooney?"

"We were hoping you'd join us in a game of poker after dinner this evening."

"Ah, yes, I'd be delighted to!" Astor called back, pulling out a chair for Madeleine on the far side of their table before sitting down beside her.

Carrick shot a wily smirk at his partner. "Jackpot," he snickered.

Joseph just shook his head. "Bloody fool," he chuckled quietly to himself. Their plan was unfolding nicely so far.

Jack and Rose shared a look. "What in the world could they be up to?" Rose whispered.

"No idea, we'll have to invite them to sit with us to find out more information," Jack decided. "Speaking of, do you think your folks are getting worried that we haven't sat down yet?" he asked sheepishly.

"Don't worry about them, I can deal with Mother and Cal," Rose replied with a dismissive wave.

Carrick was looking around the crowded dining room. He noticed that the seats were filling up quickly. "Come on Joey, let's go find a table," he said to his partner-in-crime. "It was nice meeting you," he said to Jack and Rose, before starting across the room with Joseph on his heels.

Jack quickly reached out and grabbed Joseph's arm. The latter looked a bit bewildered and a hint of fury shone in his alert amber eyes. "Sorry, I was just going to say there's room at our table," he explained with a sheepish smile. Rose giggled nervously.

"Oh, er, thanks," Joseph said, poking Carrick's shoulder. "We got invited to a table," he told him.

"Ah." Carrick nodded as he followed his partner across the spacious dining room.

Upon reaching the table, they could see several people were already seated; Cal, Ruth, Roxanne, Molly Brown, The Countess of Rothes, The Duff Gordons, Benjamin Guggenheim and Madame Aubert, Colonel Gracie, Mr. Andrews, and Mr. Ismay. Cal was glaring daggers at Rose for taking so long, as was her mother. "I was starting to worry you'd wandered off..." Cal commented coolly.

Rose shifted awkwardly on her heels. "No, of course not, darling. I was just introducing Mr. Dawson to more people," she told him. "Speaking of, this is Mr. Ryan and Mr. Mooney, they'll be sitting with us as well," she added.

Cal merely nodded. "Ah, yes, of course," he said, smiling politely as he took a sip of his champagne.

Joseph and Carrick managed faint, awkward smiles. They were still getting used to blending in with the wealthy crowd, and it was sort of awkward to be sitting directly across from the man whom they planned to run his family's business into the ground and steal his fiancé's expensive necklace.

Some waiters came to take everyone's dinner orders. They brought over caviar and crackers on little plates for appetizers and re-filled some people's champagne glasses as well.

Everyone had their eyes on Jack, as he was the only person none of them had seen around first class until now. Cal noticed the way that Sir Cosmo and Guggenheim were looking at the young blonde man, as if they were trying to figure out who he was and why he was sitting with them.

"Ah yes, I nearly forgot to introduce our guest of honor, Mr. Dawson," he announced with a nod.

"I'm honored to be here," Jack said with a sincere smile, looking directly into Rose's eyes. She blushed.

"Tell us of the accommodations in steerage, Mr. Dawson. I hear they're quite good on this ship," Ruth interjected, spreading caviar on a cracker and popping it into her mouth.

"The best I've seen, Ma'am. There's barely any rats," Jack replied, almost completely unphrased by her snobbery. Rose and Roxanne snickered into their wine glasses.

"Mr. Dawson is joining us from third class. He was of some assistance to my fiancé last night," Cal explained quickly.

"He's quite a fine artist, he was nice enough to show me some of his work this afternoon," Rose interjected, smiling warmly at Jack across the table.

"Rose and I differ somewhat in our definition of fine art," Cal commented. "No disrespect to your work, Sir," he added.

Jack waved dismissively to say that no offense was taken. He placed his napkin in his lap and looked at all of his dinnerware. There were several utensils, some that he'd never even seen before. "Are these all for me?" he asked, looking over at Molly. In the background, he could hear Mr. Ismay talking more about the Titanic with Guggenheim and Gracie.

Molly leaned over. "Just start from the outside and work your way in," she whispered.

"He knows every rivot in that... don't you, Thomas?" Mr. Ismay was saying, referring to Mr. Andrews' obsession with every little detail of the ship. This earned a chuckle from most of the men at the table, Joseph and Carrick included.

"Indeed." Mr. Andrews blushed.

"Your ship is a wonder, Mr. Andrews. Truly," Rose told the ship's architect with a smile.

"Thank you, Rose," Mr. Andrews.

One of the waiters walked up behind Jack. "How do you take your caviar, Sir?" he asked.

Jack shook his head with a dismissive wave. "No caviar for me, thanks. Never did like it much," he said, flashing Rose a silly smirk across the table. She let out a small whispery giggle and smiled at him.

"Where exactly do you live, Mr. Dawson?" Ruth asked haughtily, biting into another caviar cracker.

"Currently my address is the RMS Titanic, and after that I'm on God's good humor," Jack replied casually.

"How is it you have means to travel?" Ruth prodded curiously.

Rose rolled her eyes. _Stop it with the twenty questions, Mother... _she thought, annoyed. She shot Jack an apologetic glance across the table.

Joseph and Carrick had completely tuned out from the conversation at this point, and were now having a hushed side conversation about how to ask Cal about the necklace. _"Should we just ask him here?"_ Joseph whispered.

Carrick scratched his chin. _"I still say get 'im drunk during the poker game and keep dropping hints,"_ he said. _"It's less suspicious."_

_"Yes. All right."_ Joseph nodded in agreement as he sipped more of his champagne. _"Now, during the poker game, what sort of questions should we pose?" _

_"We'll start by telling him how lovely Miss DeWitt Bukater is, and then we can ask if he's bought her anything special in honor of their engagement," _Carrick replied simply.

_"Yes, that should work." _Joseph nodded again. He couldn't deny that his partner was a genius in the art of crime, and that his insanity was intoxicating. Every time he doubted himself for choosing a life of crime and lies, his partner was right there to reassure him.

"I work my way from place to place, tramp steamers and such. But I won my ticket on Titanic here in a lucky hand at poker. A very lucky hand," Jack explained. He looked at Rose again, who smiled into her champagne glass.

"All life is a game of luck," Colonel Gracie commented.

"A real man makes his own luck, Archie," Cal interjected. "Right, Dawson?" he asked, looking pointedly at Jack.

"Mhmm." Jack nodded.

"And you find that sort of rootless existence appealing do you?" Ruth asked haughtily. At this, Molly shot Ruth a disapproving glare.

"Oh yes, Ma'am, I do." Jack brushed it off. "I've got everything I need right here; the air in my lungs and a few blank sheets of paper. I mean, I love waking up in the morning not knowing what's gonna happen, or who I'm gonna meet. Where I'm gonna wind up. Just the other night I was sleeping under a bridge, and now here I am on the grandest ship in the world, having champagne with you fine people," he told them. He finished chewing his bread roll and raised his glass for more champagne.

"I figure life's a gift and I don't intend on wasting it. You never know what hand you'll get dealt next," he continued. "You learn to take life as it comes at you...oh, here you go, Cal!" Jack tossed a pack of matches across the table to a startled Cal, who'd just barely caught them. "To make each day count."

"Well said, Jack," Molly said with a warm smile.

"Here! Here!" Colonel Gracie proposed a toast.

"To making it count." Rose smiled at Jack as she raised her champagne glass.

"To make it count!" Everyone echoed, raising their glasses. Jack nodded, smiling. He raised his own glass before taking a sip with everyone else.

Down in third class, dinner was also going on. Tommy and Shannon were sitting at a table in the back of the room with Fabrizio, Helga and her parents, and the Gunderson cousins.

Björn and Olaus were having a conversation in Swedish, Fabrizio and Helga were making goo goo eyes at each other, and Mr. and Mrs. Dahl were watching to make sure the foreign boy [Fabrizio] kept his hands off their daughter.

Shannon blew on a spoonful of hot soup. "Do you think Jack's been able to get any information on Joseph or his mysterious partner yet?" she whispered in her boyfriend's ear.

Tommy shrugged and took a bite of his bread roll. "I dunno, I'll be really pissed if he doesn't find out anything, though," he whispered back, a sharp edge in his voice.

"Yes, but don't blame Jack if he comes back with nothing, remember it could just be that Joseph and this partner of his didn't want to talk about themselves," Shannon reminded him, softly patting his hand.

"Yeah, I know. I just need to find out what the hell is wrong with my brother, it's so strange..." Tommy explained in a low whisper, taking a huge gulp of his beer.

"I'm sure Jack will at least be able to confirm that they're definitely acting suspicious, I don't think he'll come back with nothing," Shannon told him with a soft smile.

Tommy nodded and took another bite of his roast beef. "It's been five years since I've seen him and now all of this mysterious shite is goin' on... I just don't get it," he mumbled, shaking his head.

Shannon glanced at him as she ate another spoonful of her soup. "I don't either, so let's just not think about it for now. Being worried about it won't ease yer nerves, we'll ask Jack as soon as he gets back from first class," she said.

"All right," Tommy agreed, putting his arm around his girlfriend. Shannon smiled and rested her head against his shoulder.

Fabrizio looked over at them. "So a' what time is 'dis party again?" he wanted to know.

Tommy shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure. I think as soon as everyone starts heading up to the general room after they eat, then they'll start the music," he replied.

"I am excited to a' meet more people," Fabrizio told him happily, grabbing some bread.

"Yeah, us as well," Shannon agreed, smiling at him.

Just then, little Cora Cartmell came running up to their table and tapped Fabrizio's shoulder. "Where's Uncle Jack?" she asked, her beady bright brown eyes twinkling in the dim lighting of the room.

Fabrizio turned around in his chair and smiled at the small girl in front of him. "He up eating his dinner with 'da first class people I think," he told her.

"Why?" Cora asked curiously.

"He a' got invited," Fabrizio replied simply.

"Why?" Cora prodded, somewhat confused. She didn't understand why a third class passenger would be invited to eat in first class; for, she hadn't heard of his heroic tale of saving the ginger-haired first class girl's life. She also just really enjoyed asking questions.

"Hey, Cora, where's your dad?" Shannon interjected, in an attempt to put an end to the sequence of questions. No matter how adorable she was, it was getting rather annoying while they were trying to eat.

"Why?" Cora asked, glancing from Fabrizio to Shannon.

"Nevermind..." Shannon sighed with a small eye roll, waving dismissively as she went back to eating her soup. Tommy shook his head, chuckling quietly into his beer glass. Cora didn't seem to notice.

"Oh, okay," she said. "Well, I gotta go find my daddy now, bye!" she added, skipping off again.

"Dat' a' little girl is a ball of energy," Fabrizio laughed, taking a swig of his beer.

He grinned at Helga, who was slowly sipping soup off of her spoon, and she smiled softly back at him. Even though they spoke two entirely different languages and were ethnically opposite; Fabrizio being from the southern country of Italy and Helga being from the icy north in the country of Norway, they had managed to somehow fall completely in love with each other.

Shannon noticed the way they were looking at each other and smiled. _It's a shame Mr. Dahl can't see how much his daughter loves Fabrizio, _she thought.

Back in first class, the waiters were starting to bring out the main courses. Everyone seemed to have ordered the lobster dish. Several conversation topics were floating around the table at this point and the waiters poured more champagne into their glasses.

Jack decided it would be a good time to start asking Joseph and Carrick more questions. "So, Mr. Ryan, Mr. Mooney... I overheard you saying that you were businessmen. What sort of business do you do?" he asked curiously.

Joseph coughed into his sleeve. "Trading, nothing special," he replied casually, sipping his champagne.

"I see, so do you fellas work for a company?" Jack prodded, biting into another bread roll.

"Er...yes," Joseph stuttered, twiddling nervously with his fork. Every time someone asked about their business, he got all jittery inside. Unlike his colleague, his inner guilt was starting to come up to the surface. If Carrick even had any inner guilt.

"But it's just a small one, you wouldn't know of it," Carrick interjected quickly, nearly choking on his lobster. He glared at his partner for stuttering, and the look on his face made Joseph even more nervous: _Stop stuttering you blundering fool, people will wonder what you're so nervous about. _

"If you're looking to expand it, Hockley Steel is on the lookout for more companies to partner with," Cal offered with a prideful grin. He was always looking for opportunities to look more business-savvy.

Joseph simply nodded and took a bite of his lobster. "We'll keep that in mind. Thank you, Mr. Hockley," he said.

Jack glanced across the table at Rose, noticing that she was secretly writing down some of the things that Joseph and Carrick were saying. "So, uh, where are you fellas from anyways?" he asked them.

"Ireland, can't you tell by the accents?" Carrick replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh, yeah, makes sense." Jack nodded.

"Wait, I thought you gentleman boarded in Southampton though?" Rose interjected suddenly. She remembered seeing them on the first day of the voyage.

"We did, er... business," Joseph explained, starting to sound a bit jittery and uncomfortable. He coughed into his sleeve again.

"I see," Rose said with an awkward smile. "Do you go on a lot of business trips?" she asked.

"Er, no, not really..." Carrick responded, shooting a nervous glance at his colleague. He didn't understand why they were suddenly being bombarded with questions by the third class guest and Hockley's fiancé.

Ruth glanced at her daughter and cocked a skeptical eyebrow. "First you flirt with Mr. Dawson, now you seem to be so interested in Mr. Ryan and Mr. Mooney...how many times do I have to tell you, Rose? You will marry Mr. Hockley and that is final!" she whispered harshly. She didn't like the fact that her daughter was talking to so many other men when she was engaged to Cal.

Rose's eyes widened. "Now I can't even have a friendly conversation without you nagging me?" she hissed back, annoyed. She knew she couldn't tell her mother what was really going on, so she just sat back in her chair with a huff. Roxanne flashed her a sympathetic smile.

Cal glared at her. "Well, you certainly seem to have a lot of questions, sweetpea," he muttered under his breath. Rose rolled her eyes at him.

Sensing all the tension, Molly decided to take over the conversation. She took a huge bite of her lobster and said, "Hey I've got an idea, who's got a funny story to share?"

Colonel Gracie smacked his hand against the table. "I do," he offered. "Just the other day when I was boarding the ship, I stumbled and bumped into one of the officers, knocking off his hat!" he exclaimed with a slight chuckle. "And I apologized of course, I said.. _"So sorry, Chief Officer Wilde!"..._ and he smiled politely at me and said... _"Thank you, but I'm actually First Officer Murdoch!"_ I can't remember a time when my face was a brighter shade of red!"

Everyone at the table roared with laughter. "That's a good one, Arch!" Molly exclaimed, taking a swig of champagne.

"I have a story," The Countess announced, causing all eyes to shift towards her. "This afternoon I asked one of the stewards to bring me a cup of tea. I waited for about thirty minutes and when he finally returned; he brought me scones. He said, _"Oh, I thought you were the lady who ordered all those scones, I'm sorry Miss, I fear I've given your tea to someone else!"_ He was so embarassed so I tipped him anyways," she told them, accidentally letting out a rather unladylike snicker.

That in itself caused everyone to crack up again. "You know what they say, good help is hard to come by!" Sir Cosmo joked.

"How about you guys?" Jack asked, nodding towards Joseph and Carrick, who were whispering to each other again. He was looking for subtle ways to get more information out of them.

Joseph cleared his throat loudly. He was annoyed at the interruption, as he had more serious matters to discuss with his partner, but knew he had to play along so they wouldn't look as if they were up to something.

"Well, I suppose I could tell you about my little brother Tommy," he started. Hearing this, Jack and Rose shared a glance. If there had still been any doubts before, now they were one hundred percent positive that they were secretly interrograting the right men. "I've got a story that happened about six years ago where he made an utter fool of himself trying to impress his wee girlfriend, it's pretty funny actually," he reminisced. He figured that if he had to tell a funny story, what better story to tell than one where he could poke fun at his younger brother.

"Go on, Ryan! We wanna hear it!" Molly urged him. Jack and Rose both nodded eagerly, hoping they could find out more about him.

"All right," Joseph agreed. "So he was like fifteen years old and his little girlfriend was like twelve. She's out in the street with the other village girls playing some skipping game and singing My Aunt Jane, an old Northern Irish street song. Anyways, Tommy runs out there, right in the middle of their game. He trips over the rope and lands right on top of his wee girlfriend, getting her dress all muddy. I was watching from the other side of the street... his face turned bright red and he just sprinted right out of there," he told them with a slight chuckle.

More laughter erupted around the table. "Your brother sounds like quite the charmer," Colonel Gracie joked.

Guggenheim nodded. "You must have hundreds of stories about him, eh?" he asked curiously.

Joseph shrugged and sipped more of his champagne. "Eh, not really..." he began, but stopped himself when another idea popped into his head about how he could further poke fun at the likes of his brother. "Well...there was this one other story, same girl too," he said. Everyone nodded eagerly and he continued.

"He was like sixteen and use to get into our father's whiskey stash. One evening, he drank so much and had to relieve himself really bad, and our mam had locked us out of the house because they were having tea with our father's old sailor buddies. So instead of going in our yard, he runs down the street to his little girlfriend's house. The first thing he sees laying in their yard is her mam's favorite cooking pot, and just whizzes right in it. Sure enough, little Shannon O'Neal comes outside and catches him, and no matter what good friends they were; she screams like hell for her daddy. I had to work extra hard to help my parents pay for a new cooking pot for Mrs. O'Neal to replace the one Tommy ruined," he told them.

"Oh dear, that ain't good!" Molly laughed. Needless to say, Ruth, Lady Lucille, the Countess, and Madame Aubert didn't find it as funny as she did. The men, however, continued roaring with laughter; except for Cal.

Carrick, though he'd enjoyed both stories, nudged his partner's arm. "I admit I too was a fan of the embarassing Tommy stories, but perhaps you shouldn't tell any more. You were the one who didn't think we should reveal too much about where we came from, after all," he whispered.

Joseph nodded, realizing that his colleague was right. "True, that was the last story I'll tell," he agreed quietly.

"And wasn't it you who pissed in the cooking pot?" Carrick asked with a low snicker.

"Indeed it was, but I couldn't very well admit to that here, now could I?" Joseph smirked and bit into his lobster. "But Tommy boy really did embarass himself in that skipping game," he added. Carrick chuckled quietly.

Meanwhile down in steerage, the after-dinner party was off to a good start. Mick and a few other Irish passengers had taken their instruments out and were warming up to play Swallowtail Jig. Tommy, Shannon, Fabrizio, Helga, and the Gunderson cousins were all at a table in the middle of the room drinking beers.

"We toast eh? To America!" Fabrizio held his beer glass high in the air, a wide grin across his face.

"To America!" Everyone echoed him, clinking their glasses together.

Fabrizio grinned and continued to stare dreamily at Helga. He knew his _destino _was to go to America, and he really hoped that she'd be a part of his new life there. He glanced across the room at the steerage band and sighed; would Olaf even let him dance with her?

Shannon, being the hopeless romantic she was, decided to help him out. "When the music starts, just ask her," she told him with a smile.

"But her papa no like me, he stop us, eh?" Fabrizio frowned.

"Ah, do it anyways, boyo. Once her father sees how much ye love her, maybe he'll lighten up a bit," Tommy chimed in.

"Sì, okay I will. Grazie," Fabrizio agreed happily.

Just then, Mick yelled out to the crowd, "Lads grab yer ladies! Swallowtail Jig!" He sat back down and played a low note on his pipes. The other steerage band members proceeded to pick up their fiddles, a bodhran, some clackers, and even a mandolin as they got ready to start playing.

"I love this song!" Shannon exclaimed, a gleam of delight shimmering in her bright blue eyes.

"Let's get out there then!" Tommy shouted with a silly smirk, offering her his hand. Shannon let out an airy giggle as she took his hand, allowing him to lead her out into the middle of the room. "Come 'ere, sweet," Tommy whispered, flashing her another silly smirk as he gently pulled her against him. His hands wandered down her back, resting comfortably around her waist.

Back at the table, Fabrizio got out of his chair and stood up in front of Helga. "You dance with me, eh?" he asked.

Helga stared at him, confused. "Hva?" she asked. She hadn't understood him.

"You-" Fabrizio pointed to her. "-dance-" He did a little jig. "-with me." He pointed to himself.

"Oh! Ja!" Helga exclaimed happily, allowing him to pull her to her feet.

He led her out onto the makeshift dance floor, ignoring the pointed glare of her father, who was standing close by. Helga picked up her long red bunad skirt so it wouldn't drag and wrapped her arms around Fabrizio's neck. "Is a' your papa okay with this?" he asked her. Helga shrugged, smiling, as they music started to go faster. She didn't really care.

Tommy held his girlfriend close to him as they skipped around the room. Shannon rested her head against his chest and rubbed her face against his soft white shirt. She inhaled slowly, noticing that it smelled like a mixture of fresh baked bread and the ocean, two smells that so reminded her of being back home in their small village in County Donegal. Feeling protected in his strong arms, she smiled, completely content.

Suddenly, a drunk man with red hair stumbled over and tried to cut in. "Get the hell outta here ya pisspot, get your own lass!" Tommy growled possessively, pushing the man away. "You all right, sweet?" he asked, softly kissing his girlfriend on the lips.

"Eye, never better, love," Shannon replied with a tipsy giggle. "So long as you hold me like this all night," she whispered slyly, ruffling his scruffy light brown curls.

"I love ya, Shan." Tommy grinned.

"I love you, Tom." Shannon kissed his sweaty forehead. It was getting a bit warm from all the people dancing around in the crowded general room.

* * *

Again, sorry for the ridiculous wait time. Please tell me what you think, your feedback means the world to me! :)


	9. Dinner, Dancing, and Spying Part II

**A/N: Thanks to spikessweetgirl75 and NoScrubs4Me for reviewing, it means a lot! :)**

**Enjoy this next chapter.**

* * *

_Dinner, Dancing, and Spying Part II_

Up in first class, dinner had ended and the waiters were rolling out carts full of lavish desserts to the various tables. Molly finished telling her story, which left everyone roaring with laughter once again.

Suddenly, Gracie stood up. "Join me in a brandy, gentlemen?" he offered.

"Now they're retreated to a cloud of smoke and congratulating each other on being masters of the universe," Rose whispered across the table, rolling her eyes.

"Ladies thank you for the pleasure of your company," Ismay said as he also got up from his chair.

Cal leaned over Rose's chair and offered to escort her back to the cabin, but she declined. He was about to protest, when he felt a strong arm on his shoulder and turned abruptly to see who dared to grab him like that. Seeing that it was Joseph, a fellow first class man and not one of the stewards or his valet, he relaxed a bit.

Carrick was standing there too with a wide grin across his face. "Mr. Hockley, we were hoping you'd join us in a poker game. Mr. Astor will be playing as well, and we thought it would be a nice opportunity to get to know you better," he said.

Never one to refuse a potential opportunity to make a business deal, Cal smiled at them. "Of course, that's a splendid idea," he agreed with a nod.

"Excellent, shall we go then, gentlemen?" Joseph asked. He smirked at his partner, as if to say; _See? I can be calm and collected, too. _

"Yes, come, Mr. Hockley," Carrick replied, motioning for Cal to follow them to Astor's table.

"Right behind you," Cal said. He tossed his lighter to Lovejoy, his valet, who was walking behind him.

Lovejoy turned on his heel to look at Jack. "Joining them, Dawson?" he asked, smirking.

Jack shook his head. "No thanks, I have to get back to third class," he declined with a dismissive wave. He knew he was passing up an opportunity to further spy on Joseph and Carrick, but he didn't really fancy the idea of spending more time with Cal than he had to. He also had a feeling that if he joined them, all they would do is subtly ridicule him.

Rose looked at him, confused. "Don't you want to see if they cheat during the poker game?" she whispered.

"Nah, we have enough information about them. No offense, but I'd rather not spend any more time with Cal," Jack whispered back.

"Don't worry, I'm not offended at all," Rose giggled. If it were up to her, she'd ignore Cal too.

Jack, being the only man left at the table, finally stood up. "Well, I really should get back now," he said.

Rose, looking disappointed, asked, "Jack, must you go?"

"Time for me to go row with the other slaves," Jack laughed. "Goodnight, Rose." He planted a tender kiss on her hand, slipping a note he'd written during dinner into the palm of her hand.

"Goodnight, Jack." Rose smiled softly and waved as he left the dining room.

She quickly checked to make sure her mother wasn't watching before unfolding the note. It read: **Make it count. Meet me at the clock. **"What's it say?" Roxanne whispered curiously.

Rose handed the note to her sister, who's eyes lit up in delight. "You should go meet him!" she urged. She knew how miserable her sister was with Cal, and Jack seemed so nice.

"Come with me," Rose whispered. "I'd feel like a horrible sister if I just left you here," she explained with an airy giggle.

"No, I don't want to get in the way of you and Jack, I'll just go back to the cabin," Roxanne insisted with a sly wink. She secretly hoped that her sister would fall in love with the nice third class artist and they would run away together and take her with them when the ship docked in New York.

Making sure that Ruth was deep in conversation, the DeWitt Bukater sisters quietly left the table. They entered the lobby area where the Grand Staircase was and Rose spotted Jack standing in front of the clock. Roxanne winked at her sister one last time, before walking up the other side of the staircase, unnoticed by Jack.

Rose took a deep breath and ascended the steps. At the sound of her footsteps, Jack turned and grinned at her. "So," he asked, "You wanna go to a real party?"

...

They walked into the third class general room to find lively Irish music blasting and hundreds of passengers dancing around. The air smelled of cigarette smoke, alcohol, and B.O., which had caused Rose to cringe slightly when she'd first entered the room.

Looking around, Jack noticed Tommy and Shannon sitting at a table in the middle of the room with Björn Gunderson. "Come on, let's go tell them what we found out," he said.

Rose nodded. "All right."

Tommy looked up from his beer glass to see Jack and Rose walking towards their table. "Oi, it's Jack-o! And he brought Rose!" he yelled, waving.

Shannon looked up also. "Eye, they look like they've got some information!" she pointed out excitedly.

"Tommy, we met your brother and his partner. They sat with us at dinner," Jack told him, grinning. He pulled out a chair for Rose and then grabbed one for himself.

"That's great, Jack!" Shannon exclaimed. "What's Joseph's partner's name?" she asked curiously.

"The red-haired fella is Carrick Mooney," Jack replied simply.

"That name doesn't sound familiar to us at all," Tommy commented, scratching his chin. "All right, what else did ye find out?" he wanted to know. "What sort of business are they doing?"

"Trading," Jack said. "They told us that they're working for a small company but didn't say the name of it, just that we wouldn't know of it because it's so small," he explained.

"They seemed reluctant to share specific details," Rose piped up.

Tommy gulped down the rest of his beer. "Now that doesn't suprise me at all. There's definitely something fishy going on here, and not just because we're on a ship," he said. "If they're up to something; they're worried about getting caught. Of course they wouldn't want people knowing all about them; they're probably afraid to stir up suspicion against themselves."

Björn, who couldn't really understand what they were saying because he only really spoke Swedish, decided to go get another beer. He left the table, taking his empty glass with him. He glanced back, confused at the fact that a girl who appeared to be from first class was sitting with them and that Jack was wearing a tuxedo, but he hadn't had time to ask because Tommy and Shannon had started asking them questions right away. It seemed important, so he didn't want to interrupt their conversation.

Jack was listening intently and nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense. At one point we were eavesdropping on one of their conversations and it sounded like Joseph told Carrick not to give away any personal information other than their names," he said.

"Was there anything else that didn't quite add up?" Shannon asked them.

"Well, I thought it was strange that they boarded in Southampton. If they're Irish, shouldn't they have boarded in Queenstown?" Rose looked confused.

"No, the reason they boarded in Southampton is because Joseph ran away to Wales five years ago. So Southampton must've been close to wherever they were staying in Wales," Shannon explained, swallowing a sip of her beer.

"Makes sense." Jack nodded.

Tommy awkwardly scratched his ear. "So, er, is that all ye were able to find out?" he asked, an edge of disappointment in his voice.

"Yeah, for the most part. Oh, but they were going to play poker with the richest man on the ship, this John Jacob Astor fella, and Rose's fiancé, Caledon Hockley," Jack replied, deciding not to tell them that he'd been invited to play as well.

"Eye, they're probably trying to make some extra money. I'll bet ye anything they're card sharks," Tommy said, taking a drag on the cigarette he'd just lit.

"And your brother also told us some stories about you," Jack told him, letting out a quiet snicker. He couldn't help himself.

"Oh bloody shite here we go. What the hell did he say about me now?" Tommy grumbled. Even after five years, his brother still couldn't resist the urge to poke fun at him.

"He told us how you ran out in the middle of the village girls skipping game and ended up landing on Shannon," Jack replied. "But my favorite was the one where you took a piss in her mom's favorite cooking pot," he said, trying desperately to contain his laughter.

"THAT SONOFABITCH!" Tommy roared, infuriated. "I NEVER pissed in Mrs. O'Neal's cooking pot! HE did that and tried to blame it on me!" he yelled, slamming his hands down on the table and nearly knocking over his beer glass.

"Shh, it's all right, love," Shannon said softly, patting his arm. "It's true, mam told me to fetch the pot and when I walked outside, all I had time to see was Joseph's bare arse before I ran back inside crying for me da," she added, shaking her head.

"Wow," Jack laughed.

"That's disgusting." Rose cringed.

"So anyways, you said if I spied for you, then you'd tell me the whole story?" Jack interjected curiously. Now he was even more interested after seeing Joseph and Carrick's suspicious behavior during dinner.

"Oh, right," Tommy said. He glanced around the room to make sure no one could hear him. Humors of Glendart was blasting in the background and most of the people in the room were dancing to it, so he figured it would be safe to tell the story. He cleared his throat. "So Joseph had this friend named Billy O'Roarke when he was a young lad. The O'Roarke's were the richest family in our village and they owned a beach house in Wales," he started.

"Keep going," Jack urged with a grin.

"Five years ago, Joseph came into the kitchen and said he was going to Wales with Billy to stay in the beach house and that he'd be back at the end of the summer. He left without even saying goodbye to our mam and dad; he just told me to tell them he'd left. Anyways, the end of the summer came and he didn't come back. Instead, he sent us a letter saying that he had no intentions of coming back and that he'd moved on. He never wrote to us after that, and me mam recieved only one letter from someone who'd seen him," Tommy continued, shaking his head. Just talking about it infuriated him to his very core. Shannon gently rubbed his back.

"Then what happened?" Rose wanted to know.

"Well this is the weird part. Last month news spread through the village that Billy had been found murdered in his beach house, and when Shan and I ran into Joseph the other day, he told us that Billy was waiting for him in America because they planned to expand their business there. Obviously that didn't add up at all; so we did some snooping on our own. We snuck up to first class dressed as stewards and hid in his closet. Joseph and this Carrick man were having a hushed conversation and it sounded suspicious. Carrick was yelling at Joseph about the possibility of people finding out about something they did, and then Joseph mentioned running into Shan and I. That's all we heard because Shan lost her balance on my hands and fell on top of me. Anyways, Joseph caught us, and when we confronted him about Billy's murder and the fact that it would be impossible for him to be meeting him in America because of that; he denied ever saying it. This whole thing just doesn't add up; it doesn't make sense," Tommy explained. He gulped down the rest of his beer and grumbled something to himself.

"Long story short; we're pretty sure Joseph and this Carrick man had something to do with Billy's murder. They might even be the ones who did it, but we have no solid evidence to accuse them with," Shannon interjected, sensing that her boyfriend no longer wanted to talk about it.

"Exactly." Tommy nodded. Jack and Rose shared a shocked glance. They could scarcely picture the well groomed young men they'd just dined with as criminals. However, they couldn't deny that it made perfect sense with all their whispering and evasiveness during the meal.

Jack shook his head. "Whoa," he commented, taking it all in.

Rose stared into the distance. "That's insane," she mused.

"Joseph never was one to play fair. He always thought he was better than all the other village children," Tommy told them, rolling his eyes. "Sadly, the fact that he may very well be doing some illegal shite doesn't suprise me at all; he used to do underhanded things all the time and then try to blame it on someone else," he added with an irritated sigh.

"Eye, it's true. This one time he stole an entire loaf of bread from this old lady who lived in our village, Mrs. O'Leary, and when he got caught; he tried to say that Tommy put him up to it. Of course no one believed him because he had bread crumbs all over his face, but that didn't stop him from denying it," Shannon reminisced.

"Wow," Jack said. "So how are you going to find out if they're the murderers or not?" he asked curiously.

"Dunno, we're just sort of going with the flow," Tommy replied with a shrug. "We'll have to come up with some more ways to spy on them," he said.

Björn came back to the table with his fresh glass of beer, just before Jack could ask another question. "Hej," he greeted them.

Jack smiled warmly at his Swedish roommate. "Björn, this is my friend Rose DeWitt Bukater. She's joining us from first class," he told him. "Rose, this is one of my roommates, Björn Gunderson," he added, looking at Rose.

"Hello." Rose smiled and extended her hand.

"Hej," Björn repeated, shaking it gently.

"Hey, where's Fabrizio?" Jack wanted to know.

"He's out there with that Norwegian girl he likes, Helga," Tommy laughed, pointing towards one of the platforms.

Sure enough, he could see that Fabrizio and Helga held each other close as they danced up on the platform. "Ah." Jack nodded with a sly grin.

Meanwhile in the first class smoking room, an intense poker game was going on between Joseph, Carrick, Cal, and JJ Astor. So far, Joseph had folded twice and Cal once. Astor was doing pretty well, and Carrick wasn't playing because he was the designated dealer.

Carrick glared at his partner. "Quit folding ye eejit!" he hissed under his breath. "Ye want all that, then play the game!" he said, nodding towards the betting pool. _If he keeps folding we'll never cheat Astor. I should've had him deal instead, I've got a better poker face anyways._

Joseph fidgeted in his seat and glanced at the betting pool in the middle of the table. His eyes grew wide with avarice as he surveyed it's contents; wads and wads of paper money, stacks of gold coins, a gold ring from Astor, and Cal's expensive pocket watch. "Sorry, I'm nervous," he hissed back. "Why'd ye make me play, yer better at it!"

Carrick just shook his head. "Just feckin' win," he grumbled. "I'm dealing you the best hands in here, the least ye could do is calm down and stop folding...ye could win this!"

"Fine, shut up and stop glaring at me then!" Joseph whispered harshly, looking down at his hand of nines full of kings; a full house. _I can do this... _

Cal was starting to get nervous as well because he only held a pair consisting of 2-2-3-J, but unlike Joseph; he at least knew how to hide it. He regretted how much money he'd put into the pool, now fearing he'd lose it.

Astor raised the bets even higher, forcing Cal and Joseph to put in even more money. "Now ye really better win this," Carrick muttered to his partner. After all, his partner's money was also his money.

Cal reluctantly slid another stack of coins forward and gulped down more of his brandy. "Take it," he slurred. Joseph and Carrick shared a glance, realizing that their plan was working.

"Hockley's getting drunker by the minute, start asking questions," Joseph whispered.

"So, Hockley, I notice you're a bit hesitant during betting rounds," Carrick mused coolly, lighting his pipe. "Wouldn't have anything to do with that lovely fiancé of yours, would it?" he asked teasingly.

"What are you talking about?" Cal slurred with a crooked smile, sloshing his brandy around in his glass.

"We couldn't help noticing how lovely Miss DeWitt Bukater looked at dinner with all that beautiful jewelry on 'er," Joseph explained, trying to redeem himself in his partner's eyes.

"Ah, that's nothing," Cal said with a prideful smirk.

"Eye, where I come from that's something," Joseph prodded, taking a drag on his pipe and blowing out a thin line of smoke. Carrick grinned.

"Well, you haven't seen anything yet," Cal boasted, finishing off his third glass of brandy already.

"Is that so?" Carrick asked, pretending to look curious.

"You haven't seen anything until you've seen the Heart of the Ocean," Cal replied, his eyes starting to glaze over in his drunken daze.

"Now that sounds like an expensive jewel," Joseph commented, smiling as he took another drag on his pipe.

"Yes, indeed. Tell us about it, Hockley," Carrick coaxed him.

"It's a very rare blue diamond that belonged to Louis the Sixteenth of France until the Revolution, and it was known as Le Coeur De La Mer, which means Heart of the Ocean in French," Cal explained pridefully. "My father bought it for me to give to Rose as an engagement present," he added, allowing a steward that was passing by their table to pour him more brandy.

"Don't you gentlemen think it a bit ill mannered to be discussing one's extravagant purchases during a poker game?" Astor interjected, subtly elbowing Cal.

Cal nodded, but he was too drunk to care. "Calm yourself, John. I was simply telling Mr. Ryan and Mr. Mooney about the necklace because they asked," he slurred.

Joseph grinned and took a sip of brandy. "Wouldn't want to bet something as nice as that," he said, winking at his partner.

Astor rolled his eyes. "Now my Madeleine wouldn't tolerate me discussing her jewelry, especially if there were question of it ending up in the betting pool during a poker game," he chimed in.

"Rose answers to me!" Cal snapped, helping himself to a cigar.

...

Below decks, another lively tune known as Blarney Pilgrim was blasting. Mick played his pipes faster and faster to the beat of the bodhran and the steerage passengers continued to dance wildly around the room.

Fabrizio gently lowered his hand onto Helga's waist. "Is okay I put my hand here?" he asked her. She nodded eagerly and smiled at him. "Okay!" Fabrizio yelled, waving his arms wildly in the air.

Back at the table, Rose was watching and clapping as Jack twirled little Cora Cartmell around in circles. Björn, who was seated directly in front of her, leaned across the table. "Talar fröken Svenska?" he asked, curious to know if she spoke Swedish so he could talk to her.

Rose leaned towards him. "What?" she asked. She'd missed what he said because the music was so loud.

Björn repeated his question louder. "Talar fröken Svenska?" he asked again.

Rose twirled her finger next to her ear. "I can't understand you!" she shouted over the music with an apologetic smile. She loved learning things, but she'd never really had time to learn any foreign languages other than French, and what he'd said wasn't in either of those languages.

She glanced over to see that Tommy and Shannon had brought over a few beers. She grinned excitedly and accepted a glass, taking a sip before turning to watch Jack and Cora again.

Suddenly, a drunk Irishman fell out of his chair at a nearby table. Startled, she looked to see if he was all right, and then bust out giggling when he got right back up for a glass of beer.

"Eye, that's the Irish for you," Shannon said, taking a swig of her own beer. "Just look at this one, he's gulping it down as if someone might take it from him," she teased her boyfriend. Tommy teasingly glared at her and kept drinking.

"I almost feel lightheaded," Rose said. "I've never had beer before in my life," she giggled.

"That's what it does, you know. One sip and you feel like yer floating," Shannon told her, taking another sip of her beer. She knew she'd have to drink a lot to give Tommy what he wanted later.

Just then, the song ended and all the dancers slowed to a stop. Tommy glanced across the room, to see Fabrizio and Helga standing in front of the steerage band clapping with Fabrizio yelling "Bravo! Bravo!" He laughed and took a drag on his cigarette.

Jack walked back up to the table with little Cora. "I'm gonna dance with her now, all right?" he asked, gesturing towards Rose. Cora nodded. "Come on," he said, extending his hand to Rose.

Rose protested but Jack wouldn't allow her to say no. He managed to get her into a comfortable embrace just as the next song, John Ryan's Polka, began to play. Jack noticed that his little friend looked sad. "You're still my best girl, Cora," he said, making the small girl smile.

The music started to go faster as Fabrizio and Helga danced up onto the platforms and Jack skipped wildly around the room with Rose, who was now letting out delighted screams. Tommy and Shannon chose to stay at the table with Björn so they could watch and drink more beer.

Shannon finished her second beer and let out a tipsy giggle. "I think ye may just get yer wish tonight, Mr. Ryan," she whispered in her boyfriend's ear.

Tommy nearly choked on his gulp of beer as his head snapped to face his girlfriend. "Is that so, Miss O'Neal?" he asked, his eyes wide in a lustful disbelief.

"Maybe." Shannon giggled again and snuggled into him. She needed a few more beers first.

"Eye, don't be teasing me, girly." Tommy grinned. He leaned in to kiss her, when Björn suddenly cleared his throat to remind them that he was still sitting there.

"Björn, why don't ye go out there and find a lass to dance with?" Tommy suggested, wanting to be alone with his girlfriend.

Björn made a disgusted sound and shook his head quickly. "Äckligt. Irländsk musik," he muttered, saying that he didn't like the music.

Tommy, even though he didn't know exactly what the Swede said, immediately took offense. "What the hell is wrong with Irish?" he demanded. "Fifteen thousand Irishmen worked their arses off to build this ship yer on, it's rock solid I tell ya!" he boasted with a prideful grin, lighting a fresh cigarette.

"Vi kunde bygga en större båt," Björn told him that Scandinavian men could build a bigger ship. He then held up his arm and flexed his muscles.

"Oh, so ye want to settle this with arm wrestling. Fine. Best two outta three," Tommy said, propping his elbow up on the table.

"Ja, jag kommer att vinna," Björn agreed, insisting that he'd be the winner.

"Tommy's going to win. He can lift me with one hand," Shannon argued, standing up behind her boyfriend and rubbing his shoulders.

"Really? Now? Look at his muscles...shush yer mouth, girly," Tommy whispered, not wanting to be made out a fool if he lost. Shannon flashed him a teasing smile and shrugged.

"Är du rädd?" Björn taunted, asking him if he was scared.

"Let's go!" Tommy yelled, locking fists with the strong Swedish man. Even though he didn't know what Björn had asked him, it sounded like he was teasing him, and he wasn't about to let him get away with it.

They were so busy arm wrestling, they didn't even see that Jack and Rose were now having a dance-off up on one of the platforms. Even Fabrizio and Helga had danced out of the way to give them the floor, and were now standing off to the side tapping their feet and clapping. Everyone was mesmerized as they watched the princess from first class show Jack what she was made of.

Jack and Rose linked arms and began to spin faster and faster, until Rose was screaming for him to stop but he wouldn't. Fabrizio and Helga moved to the edge of the platform and danced slower, holding onto each other in a cozy embrace.

"Jack, NO!" Rose screamed.

"Whaaa!" Jack laughed. Rose screamed again and then bust out into a fit of giggles.

...

Meanwhile in first class, the poker game was coming to an end. In his drunken stupor, Cal had decided to bet the Heart of the Ocean, after some coaxing from Carrick of course. Carrick had figured since Cal was already so drunk, it would be easier to convince him to bet the necklace than to keep questioning him about it.

Now that he'd folded and it was between Astor and Joseph to win the contents of the pool, Joseph and Carrick shared a look; the two coniving Irishmen were eager to get their hands on it.

"Hit," Joseph said, winking at his partner. He was still jittery, but he'd managed to control himself.

"Wait, I'm not done yet. Hit," Astor interjected. Being the astute businessman he was, he'd noticed a few hushed exchanges between the two Irishmen and didn't quite trust them. Whatever they were about to do, he wasn't going to be screwed over.

Carrick's eyes widened and he froze. _Shite...this wasn't part of the plan. _He reluctantly slid the card that would've crowned Joseph the victor across the table to their opponent. He had no choice, if he'd refused, then Astor would know that they'd been trying to screw him the whole time.

Joseph scowled at his partner, who shrugged helplessly. "Shall we see who won then?" he asked dryly, slamming his cards down on the table.

Astor merely nodded and gently placed his cards face up in front of him. "Ah, it appears that it's me," he said coolly.

"Ye bloody eejit!" Joseph snapped under his breath, elbowing his partner hard before getting up and storming out of the smoking room. _That whole time he's yelling at me not to screw it up-and he's the one who gives away our winning card!_

"Good game, gentlemen," Carrick mumbled quickly, before rushing out after his partner.

Once the two Irishmen were out of sight and earshot, Astor turned to Cal. "Keep the necklace, and let me give you a tip. Never bet on something that was never yours in the first place," he told him with a sigh. "And might I just add that you should consider yourself fortunate that it was I who won it," he added, standing up and walking out of the room to go back to his cabin.

Cal noticed that he'd also left the pocket watch on the table and grinned. He let out a drunk laugh and ended up falling backwards in his chair. "All right, Mr. Hockley?" Lovejoy tisked, walking up and grabbing his hand.

...

Down in third class, a few Irish and Scandinavian men had flocked over to the table to watch Tommy and Björn arm wrestle. They were already on their second round, as Björn had won the first one. On Björn's side of the table was his cousin Olaus, Olaf Dahl, and two other Scandinavian men. The drunk red-haired man, a man with a mustache, Shannon, and Brenna Hannigan stood around Tommy. Both men were being shaken and yelled at to win as the next lively tune, Kesh Jig, blasted in the background.

Tommy had a pained expression across his face as he huffed and puffed on his cigarette. "Come on, Tom! Put yer back into it!" the drunk redhead slurred, punching his shoulder.

Shannon glared at him. "Sod off, Donal! Let him concentrate!" she snapped, pushing his hand off of Tommy's shoulder.

The mustached man grabbed Tommy's cigarette, which was now barely longer than a bud, and replaced it with a fresh one. "Come on, win!" he yelled, clapping him on the back.

Just then, Jack and Rose came back to the table. Jack reached in and grabbed two beers, one for himself and one for Rose, and then stepped back to watch the arm wrestling match. Rose started gulping hers right away and Jack couldn't help but stare.

"Come on...You got it!" Donal yelled, putting his hand back on Tommy's shoulder.

"Who's my big, strong, Irishman?" Shannon whispered in her boyfriend's ear. "Yer my big, strong, Irishman...beat him." She kissed his sweaty forehead.

The men behind Björn were yelling at him in various Scandinavian languages, mostly Swedish and Norwegian. "Kom igjen, Bjørn!" Olaf Dahl shouted, shaking his fist.

His cousin Olaus pounded on his back, cheering his name. "Ja, Björn! Slå honom!" he yelled.

Tommy continued puffing on his cigarette as he felt the Swede starting to overpower him. His visible struggle caused the Scandinavian men to cheer even louder. Shannon stepped in front of the red-haired drunk, Donal, so that she could rub his shoulders.

"Pretend he's Joseph," she whispered, planting a soft kiss behind his ear. Tommy merely nodded, letting out more grunting noises.

"Irishmen don't lose, you've got it!" Brenna told him, leaning in close to his face.

Rose finished gulping her beer down to half the glass, and then looked up when she noticed Jack staring at her. "What? You think a first class girl can't drink?" she asked him. They both laughed when suddenly, a different drunk man stumbled into Jack, causing him to spill his beer all over Rose. She let out a startled shriek.

Jack shoved the man away and asked if she was all right. Rose responded by busting out into another giggling fit. She was too tipsy to care that some drunk third class man just spilled beer on her. "I'm fine," she insisted.

Suddenly, Tommy lost his grip, allowing Björn to slam his hand down against the table. They knocked over a beer glass in the process but one of the Scandinavian men picked it up before too much beer spilled out.

"JAAAAAA!" Björn roared as he was congratulated by his fellow Scandinavians.

"Two outta three! Two outta three!" Tommy yelled, reminding him that they still had one more round as Björn trash talked him in Swedish. Donal and the mustached man patted him on either shoulder while Shannon kissed his forehead again.

"So," Rose interjected, stumbling over and setting her beer glass down. She grabbed Tommy's cigarette right out of his mouth and took a drag. "You think you're big tough men?" she asked. "Let's see you do this," she said, blowing smoke out of her mouth.

She picked up her long skirts and handed them to Jack. "Hold this for me, Jack. Hold it up."

Jack did as he was told, smirking at the other men at the table. They all watched as she slowly ascended towards the ceiling, until she was only balanced on the very tips of her toes. All of the men appeared awestruck with their eyes wide and mouths agape, especially Björn and Tommy, who suddenly weren't feeling as macho.

Even Shannon, who had been glaring at her for taking her boyfriend's cigarette, now looked more shocked than agitated. She had to admit that she was impressed by the first class girl's ability to balance like that.

Rose wore a pained expression across her face before she collapsed into Jack's arms. "Ow!" she squeaked. They all started clapping for her as they shared looks of disbelief.

"Holy mackerel," Shannon breathed with a soft smile.

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!" Brenna Hannigan huffed, shaking her head. She thought it rude for a lady to show her stockings, and she didn't appreciate her show-offish behavior, tipsy or not.

"You all right?" Jack asked, concerned.

"I haven't done that in years!" Rose exclaimed with a tipsy smile. She failed to notice Cal's valet, Spicer Lovejoy, was watching her from the top of the stairs.

* * *

**A/N: Let me know what you think- I love your feedback! :D (If I made any mistakes regarding the rules of poker or Google Translate, please tell me and I'll fix it... I'm not a poker player and I don't speak Swedish but I am trying to learn the latter XD )**

**NOTICE: Chapter 10 is the third and final part of the Dinner, Dancing, and Spying chapters...so stay tuned because I'll try to have it up this weekend. There IS going to be a sex scene in there, but the sex itself isn't described in graphic detail because it flashes out to another scene and then comes back when they're finished... there will be more information in the next chapter for anyone who's concerned about ratings. **

**ALSO, please vote for which of the Ryan brothers; Tommy, Joseph, both, or neither, survives the sinking on my profile. I'm still debating with myself on what to do with Joseph and I need your opinions! The poll is located at the very top of my profile, thanks! :)**


	10. Dinner, Dancing, and Spying Part III

**A/N: Thanks spikessweetgirl75, HarleighIvashkov, and Moment For Life for your nice reviews! :) I'd also like to give a shoutout to NoScrubs4Me even though she's stopped reading this story due to losing interest in the Titanic fandom for motivating me to stop procrastinating and post this chapter already ;)**

**I KNOW, I SUCK. I'M SORRY. I've had SO much writer's block with these DD&amp;S chapters it shouldn't even be legal. :P Anywaysss I hope you enjoy this chapter now that I FINALLY posted it LOL!**

**IMPORTANT: **

***There IS a sex scene in this chapter. I'm keeping the overall rating at a T because the actual "intercourse" is not described in graphic detail; it flashes to another scene right before the "sex" and then flashes back when they're done and putting their clothes back on. If you are under 15-16 or easily offended; this warning note is for you...read at your own discretion. **

***I'm sorry for all the page breaks "..." if that bothers anyone let me know where to take them out. Thanks!**

***The song 'Star of the County Down' is public domain, however, I modified it a bit for my own purposes with this story. If anyone is an Irish music enthusiast (like myself) I'd highly reccommend looking up/listening to the original lyrics and all of the songs mentioned in these DD&amp;S chapters :)**

* * *

_Dinner, Dancing, and Spying Part III_

Suddenly, the steerage band started playing their next tune. "Drowsy Maggie, lads! Give it all you got! Let's go!" Mick shouted out. "Hup! Ho!" he yelled. Nearby, some passengers started a conga line.

Helga and Fabrizio were talking next to one of the poles. Fabrizio was just about to ask if he could kiss her, when she was suddenly swept into the quickly forming conga line. "La oss gå!" she exclaimed happily, grabbing his hand.

Fabrizio shrugged and skipped along after her. "Yay!" he yelled, causing Helga to look back at him and smile. "Good times!" he shouted, grabbing Rose's hand as they danced past the table.

Rose, giggling hysterically, proceeded to grab Jack's hand. They were all having a grand old time as they danced around the room in a big circle, picking up more passengers. Helga smiled at Fabrizio again as he continued shouting excitedly in Italian. Other passengers stood around to watch, clapping along to the lively Irish music.

Back at the table, Brenna Hannigan still couldn't believe what she'd just witnessed. "Did ye see the way she just took the lad's cigarette right out of his mouth, though?" she huffed, shaking her head.

"Eye calm yourself, Brenna," Donal slurred, grabbing yet another glass of beer.

"All I'm sayin' is for a first class lass, the girl has poor manners," Brenna argued, rolling her eyes.

"Ah give her a break, she obviously had quite a bit of alcohol in 'er!" the mustached man chimed in.

Shannon sat down on the arm-rest of her boyfriend's chair. "That was amazing the way she got up on the tips of her toes like that," she said with a faraway smile.

Tommy took a swig of his beer and lit another cigarette. "Yeah, it was. Why don't you give it a go now, Shan?" he joked with a wily smirk.

"And fall on my arse? No thank you." Shannon rolled her eyes at him.

"_Jaysus_." Brenna shook her head again. She set her beer glass down and pulled her plaid shawl tighter around her shoulders.

Björn propped his elbow back up on the table and extended his hand for the final arm wrestling match. "Runda tre!" he said, staring directly into his Irish opponent's eyes.

Tommy nodded and clasped hands with him. "Yer on!" he grunted, pushing against the Swede with all his might.

...

Meanwhile in first class, a furious Joseph stormed into his cabin with Carrick hot on his heels. "Ye bloody eejit, I can't believe yer yellin' at me not to screw it up and then it's you who goes and gives away our winning card!" he shouted, his eyes blazing with extreme anger as he slammed the door behind them.

"I had no choice, Astor was watching us!" Carrick shouted back, pushing past his partner and plopping himself down on the sofa. "Did ye want him to find out what we were really up to? Did ye?" he hissed, lighting his pipe and taking a long drag on it.

"We could've screwed both of 'em! Now we've got to find out where Hockley is keeping that necklace ourselves, if ye had just let me win; he would've given it to us!" Joseph argued, walking over to stand in front of him.

"So how in the world would you have handled the situation, eh?" Carrick prodded angrily. "Ye know we couldn't let Astor figure us out," he reminded him.

Joseph crossed his arms, glowering at his partner. "I would've been a better card shark and planned it so that would never have happened, for one! If ye hadn't been so busy yapping at me, maybe ye wouldn't have screwed up so bad!" he shot back. "This is why I should've been the dealer and you should've played; your poker face is better, ye don't get as nervous, and I'm a better dealer!" His breath reeked of pipe smoke and alcohol.

Carrick huffed, sitting up straighter on the sofa. "Fine, I'll take the blame for this one. Happy?"

Joseph glared at him as he poured himself a glass of wine. "Oh, yeah. I'm SO feckin' happy that we get to spend the rest of our night trying to find that bloody necklace ourselves," he snapped, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I'm sorry, all right! Now drop it!" Carrick yelled, standing up and stalking across the room in a huff. "Instead of moping around, we need to come up with a plan. I say we check out the cargo hold to see if we can't find Hockley's safe," he suggested.

"And what if it's not there? Or what if we find the safe but the necklace is in his cabin?" Joseph demanded. "And what about screwing over the richest man on the ship, eh? Astor put so much loot in the betting pool and we missed our one chance!" he shouted, throwing his glass against the opposite wall, watching as it shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces in a pool of red wine.

"JUST SHUT THE HELL UP AN' LISTEN FER ONCE!" Carrick yelled at him, kicking over a chair. "I know what I'm doing!"

Joseph let out a bitter chuckle. "Oh yeah? And what's that?" he inquired, lighting his pipe again and popping it back in his mouth.

Carrick leaned against the wall with a huff. "We'll go down and check out the cargo hold when most of the passengers will probably be asleep. If Hockley's safe isn't down there, I happen to know that Astor's is. We know how to crack codes easily, so we'll steal the amount of money we would've won in the poker game from him. As for the necklace, there's always tomorrow if we don't find it tonight," he explained as if it were the most obvious solution in the world.

"Fine." Joseph smirked as he blew a thin line of smoke out from between his lips.

"I'll be back later," Carrick said, stalking out of the cabin.

Joseph glared after him as the door shut. He set his pipe down and muttered to himself. "Crazy bastard..."

...

Below decks at the steerage party, Tommy had finally beaten Björn at arm wrestling in the third round. With cheers from the Irish and groans from the Scandinavians, the crowd around their table slowly dispersed. Just then, the band started playing their next tune; Britches Full of Stitches.

Tommy grinned and pulled his girlfriend onto his lap. "Would ye dance with me again, Miss O'Neal?" he asked, gesturing towards their friends, who were laughing and clapping in front of the steerage band.

Shannon nodded happily. "I'd love to, Mister Ryan," she replied with a slight giggle.

"Let's go, then," Tommy said. His eyes held a wily twinkle in the dim lighting of the room as he took another sip of his beer. He stood up and gently held her hands in his own.

"All right." Shannon smiled softly as he wrapped his arms around her waist again.

They skipped out into the middle of the room near the band and embraced even tighter. "_Tá tú mo domhan, milis agus álainn Sionainne_," Tommy slurred, kissing her softly on the lips.

Shannon let out a tipsy giggle, grabbing his shirt and intensifying the kiss. "You know I can't resist ye when ye speak Gaelic to me," she purred in his ear.

Tommy smirked at her. "_Is breá liom tú níos mó ná gach rud a, Sionainne_," he said in a low whisper, gently rubbing his nose against hers.

Up on the platforms, Fabrizio and Helga were dancing together in a cozy embrace while Mr. Dahl watched them closely from his distance. "I am a' having so much fun with you, bella Helga," Fabrizio whispered, making her giggle.

Helga planted a soft kiss on his face. "Meg også, Fabrizio," she whispered back. She didn't care that her parents didn't approve of her relationship with Fabrizio. She had no desire to wait for a respectable Norwegian man to please her father, she was happier than ever since meeting the goofy Italian man the previous day.

On the far left side of the room, Jack and Rose were having another dance-off. "I'm impressed, where'd ya learn to dance like that anyways?" Jack yelled over the loud music.

Rose flashed him a teasing smirk. "I'm a quick learner, I just copied you!" she called back in reply before they linked arms again. "Where did you learn?" she asked him.

Jack's mouth twisted into a prideful grin. "I just sorta went with the beat of the music, pretty good, huh?" he joked. Rose just smiled at him.

The music continued to get louder and faster, and nearly everyone in the crowded general room seemed to be enjoying it as the Irish passengers bid a lively farewell to their homeland.

...

Joseph sat alone in his cabin as he waited for Carrick to return. He poured himself a new glass of wine before going into his bedroom and closing the door. He quickly gulped down the wine and then went over to lay on his bed. The alcohol and his state of utter exhaustion took over, and without meaning to, he fell into a deep slumber.

Maybe a minute, or two, or ten ticked by; and then suddenly, he heard a desperate cry out in the distance. It seemed so far away, yet it was right in front of him. Then the words became more distinct, as did the voice.

"But Joey, we're best friends!" Billy O'Roarke pleaded, the fear evident on his face.

"Do it, Joey! Do it or I will!" Carrick whispered in his ear. "You aren't _afraid _are ye?" The red-haired man smirked at him.

Joseph's throat was completely dry and he swallowed hard, clutching the sharp knife tightly in his left hand. "You aren't the man I once knew, Billy," he said to the terrified young man in the bed.

Carrick let out a maniacal laugh. "Eye, ye have the nerve to call yerself his best friend, yet ye treat him like shite. You deserve everything yer about to get, O'Roarke, and Joey's gonna do it! He's gonna do it because ye weren't a good friend to him!" he yelled into the darkness of the chilly room. He pushed Billy's head down against his pillow and held him there.

Billy's dark eyes grew wide and his mouth hung agape as he tried desperately to sit up. "Please, Joey! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" he begged.

"It's four and a half years too late," Joseph snapped, his tone void of all emotion. His hand was visibly shaking as he lowered the knife against his ex-best friend's throat.

"Don't be a coward! Do him!" Carrick hissed impatiently. "This is yer one chance to become a man!"

Joseph closed his eyes and clenched his teeth. "Shut the hell up!" he snapped under his breath. The task was difficult enough and he didn't need his partner breathing down his neck.

Carrick glowered at him and stepped backwards. "Just do it or I will," he said irritably.

"PLEASE!" Billy yelled, closing his eyes tightly.

"Goodbye, O'Roarke." Joseph slid the knife ever so slowly across his old friend's throat, watching as the life left Billy's eyes. Suddenly, Carrick's insane laughter filled the room and he covered his ears. "SHUT UP, YOU MADMAN! I JUST MURDERED MY BEST FRIEND!" he screamed at him.

Just then, his eyes snapped wide open and he realized that he was back in his first class suite room on the Titanic. It had only been a dream; the same dream he'd been having for weeks.

He sat up, realizing that he was covered in sweat. "Bloody feckin' hell..." he muttered, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. He shuffled into the bathroom and splashed some cool water on his face. Looking up at his reflection, he scowled and laughed bitterly.

"I'm a monster, that's what I am," he said to himself, his voice laced with a sort of sickness he couldn't describe.

"Carrick...this all started with Carrick. He's even worse than me. He has no regrets or guilt that cause him to wake from a deep slumber screaming at the top of his lungs. Yet his insanity is undoubtedly enticing, whenever I'm in his presence; all of this internal pain and suffering vanishes. Why should I feel guilty? Billy deserved what he got... didn't he? All of these people we've screwed over, that's their own fault for not being more business savvy. Eye?" Joseph dried his face with a towel and walked out of the bathroom.

He lit his pipe and took a long drag as he sat down at the desk in the parlor room with his diary. He opened to a fresh page and began to write;

_I've committed so many sins these past few years, far too many to atone for. I am surely damned in the eyes of God, there is no turning back now._

_So why should I stop sinning? Why not live life as well as I can before my time in this world is up? It would be pointless to give up now after everything I've gone through to get where I am today._

_Guilt is a small price to pay for all the riches and luxuries of the world. Whatever I desire; there is always a way to get it. Perhaps Carrick has always been more sane than I... maybe it's me who's mad to feel so guilty. He's a criminal genius... he knows how to live! I am a lost soul who's been misguided for the first part of my life...but now I know better. He's taught me his ways!_

_**Greed. Pride. Envy. Lust. Gluttony. Sloth. Wrath.** Those are the real rules of life. The ones no one tells you about. The ones people say will get you damned the fastest, but __I'm already damned. So why stop now?_

He slammed the diary shut and leaned back in his chair. "Carrick's right. We'll go down to the cargo hold and pilfer through any safe we can crack open," he decided, a crooked smile forming on his face.

...

The song had ended and everyone was back standing around the table. Fabrizio and Tommy were on one side of the table with their girlfriends in their laps, and Jack and Rose sat across from them. The Gunderson cousins had gone to a different table where a bunch of Scandinavian men were playing cards.

Jack grabbed a beer from the center to the table and took a sip. "So, are you all excited to get to America? I know Fabri and I are." He grinned.

Tommy nodded. "Yeah, I heard Chicago's a nice place," he replied simply.

"So why are you going to Chicago instead of just staying in New York City?" Jack asked curiously.

"Eye, my da knows people who have been there. They said I'd be able to find easy work and that it's a great city, the only thing Shan and I need to worry about now is actually getting there from New York." Tommy let out a light chuckle as he blew out a thin cloud of smoke from between his lips.

"What sort of work are you interested in?" Jack wanted to know.

"Tommy wants to work on the harbor, with the boats and such. Don't ye, love?" Shannon smiled at her boyfriend.

"Eye, I've always loved the water," Tommy confirmed with a grin. "My da's old friend, Brendan Corrigan, worked on Lake Michigan during his time in Chicago. When he came back to Ireland a few years ago, he said he loved working there because of the nice breeze and the seagulls flyin' overhead," he added.

"That does sound nice," Rose commented, smiling as she sipped the foam off the top of her beer glass.

Tommy set his finished cigarette down on the table so he could drink more of his beer. "Yeah. I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully they'll let me work there, I'm gonna go talk to whoever's in charge as soon as we get to Chicago," he said.

Shannon smiled softly and rested her head against his chest. "They need lots of big, strong, Irishmen working on those harbors. I'm sure you'll get a job," she told him.

"Eye, Shanny, yer so optimistic." Tommy grinned as he planted a soft kiss on her lips. "What sort of work are you interested in, Jack? Fabri?" he asked.

"Like I say before, I go to America to be _millionaire_," Fabrizio replied with a prideful grin. "And I buy for bella Helga anything she want," he added, making Helga giggle.

"Probably just various side jobs in addition to selling my drawings," Jack piped up, scratching his chin. "I was telling Rose a while ago how I used to work on a squid boat in Monterrey, and I've also worked on several tramp steamers. I'm willing to try anything at least once," he laughed.

Tommy nodded with a wily grin as he popped a fresh cigarette in his mouth. "So, Jack-o. What can ya tell us about the immigration process?" he wanted to know. He hoped it wouldn't be too taxing because he and Shannon were eager to get to Chicago.

Jack shrugged. "I've never done it myself so I don't know a lot, but I know you have to go through Ellis Island when the ship docks in New York Harbor. I think it only takes a few days. They'll probably have you fill out information and things like that," he replied, looking at Tommy, Shannon, Helga, and Fabrizio in turn.

"So a' where is dis Ellis Island place, Jack?" Fabrizio asked curiously.

"It's right by the docks, to make it easy for all the immigrants coming off all the different steam-ships," Jack answered, gulping down the rest of his beer.

"And the Statue of Liberty is right there too," Rose chimed in, smiling.

Fabrizio grinned happily. "Jack, you remember when we see 'da Statue of Liberty the other day an' it was a' so small from out here?" he asked.

Jack was amused at his friend's excitement. "Yes, ragazzo mio," he laughed.

Fabrizio looked at his Norwegian sweetheart and grinned. "I a' show it to you sometime, is a' very small from out here," he told her. Helga flashed him a soft smile and nodded eagerly.

Just then, Jack looked across the room and out through one of the portholes, realizing how dark it was outside. "Aw shit, I didn't realize it was so late," he said, running a hand through his unruly sandy blonde hair.

Rose let out a miserable sigh. "I suppose I should be getting back to first class, then," she said, taking one last sip of her beer.

"You no happy to be going back, bella Rosa?" Fabrizio furrowed an eyebrow at her.

"To tell the truth, no, I'm not. I'd much rather stay down here than go back to my own stuck-up crowd," Rose answered sadly as she stood up.

"Then a' you come back tomorrow, eh?" Fabrizio offered with a grin.

"I'd love to!" Rose replied brightly as Jack draped his tuxedo jacket around her shoulders. "Thank you all so much for letting me come down here and party with you, this was the most fun I've had in ages," she added, a tipsy smile across her face. Her vibrant ginger hair-bun was now loose, tangled, and smelled of beer, and her face was flushed from all the dancing. But she was happier than ever.

"See ya later!" Jack called to his friends, waving as he escorted Rose up the stairs that led out on deck. As soon as they left, Tommy and Fabrizio turned their full attention on their girlfriends.

Tommy planted a soft kiss on Shannon's temple. "I love ye so much, sweet," he whispered.

Shannon smiled at him and gently rubbed her nose against his. "I love ye too," she whispered back.

Fabrizio and Helga had gotten up to go kiss by the far wall, out of sight from Mr. and Mrs. Dahl. Suddenly, the steerage band began warming up their instruments again. "All right, our last tune tonight is one of me personal favorites; Old John's Jig! It's a slower one, let's go, lads!" Mick yelled out to the crowd.

Tommy grinned at his girlfriend. "Eye, what do ye say, sweet; one more dance?" he offered.

Shannon nodded in reply. "All right," she said softly.

"C'mere me love," Tommy slurred, pulling her up with him.

"Eye." Shannon let out a tipsy giggle and picked up her skirt as he led her out onto the dance floor one last time.

They danced slower this time, Shannon's head on her boyfriend's strong shoulder. A few minutes into the song, Tommy realized that his girlfriend was crying softly because he could hear her quiet sniffles and also felt his shirt getting wet.

He planted another tender kiss against her temple. "What's the matter, sweet?" he asked gently. It worried him every time she cried because he was afraid that she was already regretting coming with him to America.

Shannon sniffled. "I-I miss Ireland again, Tommy. This was the song I danced to with F-Fitzpappy at his sixty first birthday a-a few months ago, a-and I-I don' know when I-I'll see him again," she choked out. She was referring to her maternal grandfather, Donal Fitzpatrick, whom she was very close to, being his first-born grandchild.

"Shh, it's going to be all right, sweet. I promise ye that yer Fitzpappy can come visit us in Chicago very soon," Tommy whispered soothingly, rubbing her back and kissing the top of her head.

"S-Swear it?" Shannon asked, slowly looking up from his shoulder. Her eyes were puffy and blood-shot from crying so much, as she'd been crying a lot for the past few days.

"I swear it, me love," Tommy promised, engaging her in a passionate lip-lock.

After about thirty seconds, Shannon broke the kiss. "Tommy?"

Tommy looked into her tear-filled blue eyes with concern. "Yes, sweet?"

Shannon managed a faint smile. "I'm ready."

_..._

The fact that both of them were a wee bit over their liquor limit didn't help their sense of direction in the slightest, and it wasn't just because they were too busy locking lips to watch where they were going. Tommy looked up for a second to see a door straight ahead. "Let's see where that goes," he mumbled between kisses.

Shannon merely nodded. "Mhmm..." she mumbled back.

Ignoring the sign that read **Crew** **Only**, Tommy opened the door and carried his girlfriend down a flight of stairs, realizing that they had ended up in the cargo hold. He flashed her a wily smirk as he crouched under the stairwell in the dimly lit storage room.

"Is this all right fer ye, sweet?" he slurred.

"Eye, it's perfect," Shannon whispered, kissing his neck.

"I'm glad ye like it." Tommy grinned. He held her with one arm and struggled to remove his coat, laying it down on the floor with his free hand. Ever so gently, he lowered himself to the floor and placed his girlfriend on top of his coat. "Are ya sure you wanna do this?" he asked in a low whisper. He knew that she'd been apprehensive about the whole lovemaking idea, and he didn't want her to feel pressured into anything that would make her uncomfortable.

"Yes," Shannon replied softly, only slightly hesitant. Even though she was afraid, she knew how much Tommy wanted this, and she wanted to give it to him because she loved him.

"I'm not so convinced, we don't have to do this right now if you're scared, we can..." Tommy started. He wanted this badly, but he'd been raised well enough to be sensitive to her feelings. His mother had taught him to always respect a lady's wishes before acting on his own whims.

"I love you. I'm ready to show you how much," Shannon interjected, gently putting her fingers to his lips to shush him. She swallowed hard and nodded as to convince herself of what she'd just said.

Tommy grinned again. "I love you too. If I know nothing else about this crazy world, there's one thing I'm sure of...that I'm head over heels in love with ye, Shan," he mumbled, pressing his lips forcefully into hers. He slowly took out the pins that held her bun in place, allowing her long strawberry blonde hair to fall down her back and shoulders. "I want ye so bad," he whispered, his warm breath sending a wave of lust right through her, making her shudder in his embrace.

"Make love to me, Tom," Shannon pleaded, reaching up to caress his face. Suddenly, she was no longer afraid, but rather overcome by an intense sexual desire.

"All right..." Tommy agreed, gently running his fingers through her hair. "Are ye absolutely sure this isn't just the alcohol talking though?" he asked, recalling how much beer he'd seen her drink at the party.

"Beer or not, I want this...right here, right now, just like this. I'm ready," Shannon insisted. "But please go slow and gentle," she added quickly, a fearful edge in her sweet voice.

Tommy smiled softly as he stared lovingly into her fear-filled blue eyes. "Of course, sweet, you know I'm always gentle with you," he reassured her with a soft kiss. Without breaking the kiss, he tenderly pushed up her skirt as he started to unbutton her blouse.

Shannon reached up and grabbed his shirt, pulling him closer in their lip-lock as she slid his suspenders straps down. She started to unbutton first his vest, and then the white shirt underneath, as fast as her nimble fingers would allow. She slid them off over his shoulders, exposing his toned chest with a few light and scruffy hairs on it. "Well aren't you quite the Adonis..." she mumbled, pausing for air before his lips crashed into hers again.

"And you're my Aphrodite," Tommy mumbled back as he slowly removed her skirt and blouse, leaving her in nothing but her knickers and bra. His face reddened a bit and he let out a nervous laugh. "_Holy mackerel... _you really are a goddess. I'm a wee bit afraid to touch you to tell the truth," he whispered, softly stroking the side of her face. She was almost completely exposed to him and her innocence seemed to glow brightly around her like a halo. He felt sort of guilty that he was about to take that away from her.

"It's all right, I want this," Shannon whispered back, ruffling his unruly light brown curls as she planted tender kisses on his chest. "You don't have to feel weird about it. If I'm going to lose my innocence, I want it taken by the man I love," she told him, seeming to read his mind. She slowly popped open the button on his trousers and reached inside, stroking his precious gems and causing him to moan in pleasure.

"Oh hell yes...yes, Shan...yes," Tommy panted, kissing her hard on the lips again.

Shannon smiled slyly and proceeded to pull down his trousers, exposing his stiffness in his white boxers. She had to admit that his length was impressive as she began to stroke him. "Does that feel good, love?" she purred in his ear. She wrapped her legs around his waist, intensifying the kiss.

Tommy nodded, kissing her harder yet. "Oh shite, yeah, Shan...it does, it really does..." he breathed. "Now let's do this," he whispered with a wily smirk, gently sliding her knickers off.

Shannon sucked in a deep breath. She'd been mentally preparing herself for this all night, with the help of some booze of course, and she trusted Tommy to be gentle with her. "Okay, go ahead," she told him, smiling faintly.

"I promise ye, you'll barely feel it... only for like a second, and I'll try 'ta pull out at the end so it's not as intense this first time," Tommy said soothingly, slowly pulling down his boxers. "Ready, sweet?" he asked one last time.

"Yes." Shannon nodded for him to go ahead. She noticed that a bit of perspiration had gathered on his forehead and that he was breathing heavily. He was shaking as he leaned in to kiss her again. "I'm fine, love, go for it," she whispered, kissing his sweaty forehead.

"Okay." Tommy grinned as he ran his fingers through her hair again.

...

Carrick barged back into his partner's cabin to find Joseph sitting at the desk, staring down at what appeared to be a diary. "What's that?" he asked curiously, reaching for the small green leather-bound book.

Joseph grabbed his hand, pushing him away. "It's nothing. It's...it's mine, it's personal," he stammered, tossing the book across the room. He knew he couldn't allow Carrick to read his deepest, darkest secrets. It would be the end of him.

"Hiding something, are we?" Carrick tisked, striding across the room to retrieve the diary anyways.

"I SAID DON'T TOUCH IT!" Joseph found himself shouting, causing his partner to freeze in his tracks.

"Fine, no need to blow your top." Carrick scowled at him and dropped the book with emphasis. "I think most of the people on this ship will be heading off to bed soon, if they aren't asleep already, so it's probably safe to go down to the cargo hold now," he said coolly, helping himself to a cigar out of his partner's tin.

"Eye, right," Joseph agreed with a simple nod. "So we'll crack open Astor's safe, an' check 'ta see if Hockley's is down there 'ta steal the necklace?" he asked for clarification.

Carrick nodded and blew out a dark cloud of smoke from between his pursed lips. "Eye, that's right...but why stop there? Let's steal from any safe we can break into," he replied.

Joseph smirked. "Excellent plan, partner, let's go," he said, a wily gleam in his alert amber eyes.

"Do ye know how 'ta get into the cargo hold?" Carrick asked him. "I'm tryin' 'ta think of a way because we'll get caught if we try 'ta go through the boiler room," he explained.

"Isn't there an entrance off the third class deck?" Joseph cocked an eyebrow in contemplation.

"Ah, yer right. It's crew only, but considerin' what we're going down there 'ta do, what do we care fer rules?" Carrick smirked and finished off his cigar.

The two young Irishmen put on their darkest colored coats and gloves (to hide fingerprints) and grabbed two small sacks for their loot, before quietly exiting Joseph's cabin and tiptoe-ing down the hall towards the entrance to the deck.

...

"I love ye, Shanny," Tommy panted, kissing his girlfriend softly on the lips.

"Oh, Tommy, I love ye too...yer shaking," Shannon whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck and softly rubbing her nose against his.

"Of course I am, I just made love to a goddess." Tommy smirked as he gently ran his fingers through her long, sweaty strawberry blonde hair.

Shannon let out an airy giggle and kissed him. "Ye make me happy," she told him.

Tommy grinned and kissed her back. "Ye make me happier," he insisted. "_A dhéanann tú bhraitheann mé críochnaithe, Sionainne,_" he whispered with a wily twinkle in his warm pools of hazel.

"_Is gá dom duit, Tommy,_" Shannon whispered in reply, ruffling his tangled light brown curls as she planted tender kisses on his chest and face.

"_Beidh mé i gcónaí anseo chun tú, Sionainne," _Tommy promised, gazing lovingly into her bright blue eyes.

...

"This way, an' hurry up," Joseph whispered, shoving his partner through the door and closing it quietly behind them.

"Come on, let's go to Astor's safe first," Carrick said, shuffling down the staircase.

"How are we gonna find it?" Joseph asked, furrowing a brow.

"Don' be an eejit, it's prob'ly got his initials on it!" Carrick rolled his eyes.

"Eye, of course." Joseph merely nodded. They tiptoed across the room, failing to realize that they were not alone.

...

"Yer still shaking, love," Shannon said with a whispery giggle.

"Eye, ye have that effect on me, sweet," Tommy replied with a sly smirk. Just as he was about to say something else, he stopped because he heard voices and footsteps on the far left side of the room.

"What is it?" Shannon looked confused.

"Shh, do ye hear that?" Tommy whispered.

"Hear what?" Shannon frowned.

Tommy gently held his finger to her lips, craning his neck to peer out from underneath the staircase. Sure enough, he spotted his older brother and his red-haired partner pilfering through a dark blue colored safe. "Shite, hurry, shh!" he whispered, scrambling back into his trousers and rushing to re-button his shirt and vest.

Shannon turned to see what her boyfriend was going on about, sucking in a gasp when she too noticed them. "What the hell are they doing?" she whispered, eyes wide as she quickly pulled her skirt back on. She scrambled to button her blouse and pin her hair back up in a bun.

"Looks like the sonofabitches are up 'ta no good again, stealin' from the other passengers," Tommy muttered, shaking his head in disgust.

"That's a lot of money..._Jaysus_," Shannon breathed in disbelief. She'd never seen so many golden coins in her entire eighteen years in this world.

"Eye, it is," Tommy agreed, still muttering to himself as he watched his older brother examining a pure silver pocket watch and a sapphire necklace.

They watched them for a few more minutes, until Tommy's face was the color of a tomato. "Ah, I can't even watch this anymore." He shook his head again. "Who the hell they think they are, I don't know, stealin' is one a' the most despicable things ye can do," he grumbled, furious.

Shannon planted a soft kiss behind his ear. "Come on, ye don't need to get yerself worked up over those rogues, let's just leave," she whispered, standing up.

Tommy nodded his agreement and slowly got to his feet beside her. "Feckin' scoundrels," he growled as they quietly shuffled up the stairs, unnoticed by Joseph and Carrick.

Once they were back up on the deck, Tommy stopped and pulled his girlfriend close to him, engaging her in another passionate lip-lock. After a few seconds of utter bliss, Shannon stepped back.

"What was that for?" she giggled.

"Because I love ye," Tommy replied slyly, his eyes gleaming in the moonlight.

"I love ye too." Shannon giggled again.

"Shanny, will ye dance with me again?" Tommy asked with a grin.

"I'd love to, Tommy, but we haven't any music," Shannon replied softly, resting her head against his chest.

Tommy planted a soft kiss on the top of her head. "Eye, but we do, just move along with me," he whispered, starting to dance around the deck. Shannon mumbled something inaudible into his shirt and nodded, her feet moving along with his own. Suddenly, he began to sing quietly into the chilly night air.

"_Near 'ta Banbridge town,_

_In the County Down,_

_On an evening in late July,_

_Down a boreen green, ran the fairest cailin,_

_And she smiled as she passed me by-_

_Oh she looked so fair with her strawberry blonde hair,_

_To the sparkle in her bright blue eyes,_

_'twas a coaxing elf, so I shook myself, to make sure I was standin' there!_

_And from Bantry Bay, into Derry Quay,_

_And from Galway 'ta Dublin town-_

_No maid I've seen, like that fair cailin,_

_That I met in the County Down!_

_As she onward sped, sure I shook my head,_

_An' I looked with a feelin' rare,_

_An' I said, says I, to a passerby: "Who's that maid with the strawberry blonde hair?"_

_He smiled at me, with great pride says he: "She's the gem of ol' Erin's crown, why that's Shannon O'Neal, she's got quite the appeal, she's the Star of the County Down!"_

_And from Bantry Bay, into Derry Quay,_

_And from Galway 'ta Dublin town-_

_No maid I've seen, like that fair cailin,_

_That I met in the County Down!_

_Well I've traveled a bit, but was never hit,_

_Since I first began roving so real, so fair and square I surrendered there, to the charms of Miss Shannon O'Neal-_

_With a heart to let, and no tenant yet, _

_Did I meet with a shawl or gown,_

_So in she went an' I asked no rent,_

_From the Star of the County Down!_

_And from Bantry Bay, into Derry Quay,_

_And from Galway 'ta Dublin town-_

_No maid I've seen, like that fair cailin,_

_That I met in the County Down!_

_At the moonlight dance, she had me so entranced,_

_I was dressed in my finest clothes,_

_And I tried sheep's eyes and delutherin lies_

_For the heart of me Irish rose-_

_Cuz' no pipe I'll smoke, nor ox I'll yoke-_

_Til' me plow is a rust turned brown,_

_Til' with great pride I've by me side, the Star of the County Down!_

_And from Bantry Bay, into Derry Quay,_

_And from Galway 'ta Dublin town-_

_No maid I've seen, like my fair Shanny Maureen,_

_That I met in the County Down!_

_No maid I've seen, like my fair Shanny Maureen,_

_That I met in the County Down!"_

He finished his song and stopped dancing, gently rubbing his nose against hers. "I promise ye now sweet, everything is gonna be amazing once we get 'ta Chicago, you'll see," he whispered, kissing her softly again.

...

Down in the cargo hold, Joseph and Carrick had stolen from JJ Astor the amount of money that had been in the pool during the poker game, along with his silver pocket watch and a sapphire necklace belonging to his wife.

Though happy with their loot from Astor's safe, they were incredibly peeved to realize that the safe of Caledon Hockley was not stored down there. "Damnit, Carrick! I knew ye shouldn't have given Astor that last card!" Joseph hissed, infuriated.

"As I said, we couldn't let 'im know we were cheating 'ta screw him over. I dunno about ye, but I didn't fancy gettin' arrested!" Carrick snapped at him.

"Well neither did I, but I want that bloody necklace!" Joseph growled, pushing his partner away from him and storming up the staircase.

"Jaysus, Joey, calm yerself! We'll find the necklace tomorrow!" Carrick yelled, grabbing their sacks of loot and charging after him.

Joseph just rolled his eyes. "Yer gonna find the necklace, I'm not helping," he grumbled, turning to glare at his partner-in-crime.

Carrick scowled at him. "Fine, be a wee crybaby, I'll find the damn necklace. Eye?" he huffed.

"Ye better find it, or next thing ye know you'll be shite'n it out after I've shoved it up yer arse," Joseph hissed.

"Real feckin' mature," Carrick muttered.

* * *

**HALLELUJAH. :P**

**Please let me know if I made any mistakes in the Irish/Gaelic phrases, as I don't speak it and had to use Google Translate. **

**Let me know what you think, your feedback means the world to me! :) :) :)**

**NOTE: If anyone wants to hear me sing the Star of the County Down (my Shannon modified version) that was in this chapter, you can find me on YouTube as The Awkward E...I do fan videos. :)**


	11. Emotions Come Alive

**A/N: ****This is a smaller chapter to close off the night of April 12th. **

**NOTE: I personally hate Mary-Sues, and I was trying to think of a way to just really solidify the fact that Shannon is not a Mary-Sue. And as I started thinking about it, I figured out how to do it. W/o spoiling too much... you'll get to see a different side of Shannon, and of Joseph and Tommy as well in this chapter... it's a more serious and emotionally intense chapter. You've been warned ;)**

* * *

_Emotions Come Alive_

Carrick chased his partner across the deck. "I know yer mad, but slow down a bit will ya?" he yelled. "It's bloody cold out here!"

Joseph ignored him and kept walking faster and faster. "Ain't my problem, speed up a bit why don't ye?" He broke into a run, suddenly overcome with anger at his partner for screwing up their plan that had seemed so brilliant at first.

_Carrick always has to be in charge of everything; he gets first pick at everything... if he'd just let ME be the dealer and HE played we'd have the bloody necklace and Astor's money and wouldn't even have had to go pilfering through the cargo hold in the first place... _He was so utterly furious that he swore nothing in the world could slow him down, that is, until he crashed straight into Tommy and Shannon.

"YOU! WE KNOW WHAT YOU'VE BEEN UP TO YA GOOD FER NOTHIN'!" His younger brother grabbed him by his shirt collar and threw him down against the hard wooden deck. "STEALIN' FROM THE OTHER PASSENGERS NOW, CAN YE SINK ANY LOWER, MAN?" Tommy's face was beet red and his eyes seemed to hold an electric red twinkle of fury in the darkness.

"GET THE HELL OFF A' ME, YA SCUM!" Joseph shot back, scrambling to his feet and shoving his brother away.

"I'M THE SCUM? I'M THE SCUM?" Tommy roared, plowing back into his brother. "I'M TWICE THE MAN YOU'LL EVER BE BECAUSE I MAKE AN HONEST LIVING AND I WORK HARD, YOU JUST TAKE AND CHEAT 'TA GET WHAT YE HAVE!"

Shannon just stood against the rail, eyes wide as she watched her boyfriend finally have it out with his estranged older brother. She was shocked speechless. Suddenly, Carrick charged into the action, finally catching up with his partner.

Seeing the fighting, he immediately intervened. "What the bloody hell is going on here?" he shouted, throwing the two brothers apart. Tommy toppled over to the left side of the deck and Joseph to the right, before they went and attacked each other again. "STOP IT! RIGHT NOW!" Carrick roared, pouncing into the middle of the brawl.

All three men punched, kicked, and yelled at each other... losing all sense of what they were doing in the action. About a minute or so into the fight, Joseph's left foot met Tommy's jaw, causing him to let out a loud yelp of pain. Shannon couldn't watch any longer, she couldn't take seeing the love of her life and his brother beating each other senseless.

"STOP IT! ALL OF YE!" she cried out, scorching hot tears stinging her eyes. "YER ACTING LIKE CHILDREN!" she scolded them.

"YE WANT US 'TA STOP FIGHTING, THEN GET YER DAMN LOVERBOY OFFA ME AND OUTTA ME SIGHT FER GOOD!" Joseph growled at her, his head sticking out from underneath Tommy's leg.

"PLEASE JUST STOP!" Shannon pleaded. "TOMMY HE ISN'T WORTH IT...I WANT TO GO BACK TO THE CABIN!"

But Tommy couldn't stop. Five years of being so utterly infuriated at his brother for abandoning their family unleashed itself, and Tommy didn't even recognize himself anymore...he was overcome by something otherworldly as he pounded on Joseph repeatedly. "I HATE WHAT YOU ARE!" he roared, slamming his brother into the deck over and over again. Even Carrick had sensed that this wasn't his fight, and had quietly stalked away, muttering something about going to sleep.

Shannon broke down into shuddering sobs and dropped to her knees. "STOP IT! THOMAS CHRISTOPHER RYAN YOU STOP IT THIS INSTANT! I CAN'T WATCH YOU TWO FIGHT LIKE THIS...YER BROTHERS FER GOD'S SAKE!" she screamed at them, pulling on her boyfriend's suspenders to try and get him off of his brother, who was now looking to be on the brink of losing consciousness from being slammed against the deck so many times.

Tommy ignored her, unable to stop beating on Joseph. He didn't care that his brother was no longer fighting back. Or that he was causing his girlfriend intense emotional distress. He needed to satisfy his darkest urges that had been pent up since Joseph first left five years ago... he'd thirsted for so long to beat the living hell out of his brother if he ever saw him again.

"GET...THE FECK...OFFA...ME..." Joseph wheezed, trying with all his might to roll out of his younger brother's grip.

"NO! YER GONNA PAY ONCE AN' FER ALL FER BEIN' SUCH A SORRY EXCUSE OF A BROTHER...OF A SON...OF A MAN!" Tommy roared, punching his older brother in the gut as hard as he could.

"THAT'S ALL YE MEN DO IS FIGHT!" Shannon screamed, getting up and running back inside, her long teal skirt billowing after her in the freezing sea winds. She ran all the way back to their cabin and collapsed on her bed, weeping. It was too much for her, everything that had been on her mind for the past few days came flooding in at once, overwhelming her.

Homesickness and fear overcame her, and she broke into hysterics, not even caring that Mr. and Mrs. Hannigan were now wide awake staring at her. "I can't take this anymore! I can't! I'm a fool fer leaving Ireland...my family...my home... fer a man who clearly can't control himself!" she screamed into her pillow.

Mrs. Hannigan sighed and slowly rolled out of her bed, shuffling across the room to sit beside the much younger girl. "Shh, calm yerself lassie, it's all right," she soothed her. Shannon buried her face in Mrs. Hannigan's warm nightdress and sobbed. Without her mother or her grandmothers to go to, Mrs. Hannigan was the only maternal figure she had.

...

Tommy finally stopped beating on his brother when Joseph's eyes closed and his head dropped against the deck. He was still breathing, but in heavy wheezes, and he pleaded his younger brother to leave him alone. "Just quit...ye won...dammit..."

Not wanting to cause any serious harm to his brother, more for the sake of being arrested than for truly not wanting to inflict pain on Joseph, Tommy stood up and turned to walk away. "Yer a despicable bastard an' I hate what ye are, I hate what ye made me do... now I've upset me girlfriend all because 'a you!" he spat, kicking his older brother hard in his leg before storming back inside the ship.

Upon reaching their cabin, he saw that Mr. Hannigan was standing in front of the closed door, blocking the way. "Don't go in, lad. Brenna's tryin' 'ta calm her down," he told him, pushing him back. "Let's talk, man 'ta man," he continued, ushering Tommy into a corner.

"Now I dunno exactly what happened, nor do I really care to know, but what I do know is that yer girlfriend is very upset," he started.

"I know I screwed up, I was fighting with me brother...it's a really long story," Tommy sighed miserably, slouching back against the wall.

"Don't apologize 'ta me, boyo. Go in there and comfort yer girlfriend, show her the gentle man she loves so well, not the violent beast who scared her into hysterics," Mick interjected, placing a firm hand on his shoulder.

Tommy nodded. "Yer right, thank ye, Mr. Hannigan," he said. He bowed his head as he entered the cabin, earning a stern glare from Mrs. Hannigan, who was stroking Shannon's hair as she cried into her lap. Mick shut the door softly behind them and climbed back into bed.

Mrs. Hannigan sighed. "Here, boy, yer the only one who can fix this," she said, slowly getting up and shuffling back to her own bed on the other side of the room. As soon as she'd gotten up, Shannon's head fell against her pillow.

"I'm sorry ye had 'ta see that, sweet. I don't know what came over me," Tommy whispered, crawling into bed beside his girlfriend and wrapping his arms around her.

"I...I just don't k-know anymore...I want to go back to Ireland..." Shannon sobbed, turning away from him. "C-Clearly ye can't c-control yerself..."

Tommy gently ran his fingers through her hair. "Look, sweet... I can apologize 'til the cows come back, but I realize that isn't what ye need right now. Ye need me to comfort you because I know there's a lot going through that pretty head a' yers. I know ye miss yer family an' yer home, because I do too, and that's why we need each other now more than ever. We're all we have, Shanny," he told her soothingly.

Shannon slowly turned to face him. Even in the darkness he could tell how puffy and red her eyes were. "I-I'm having s-so many thoughts an' worries...an' the last t-thing I need right now is...is all this bloody drama with yer brother an-and..." she choked up. "I-I hate seein' ye get so violent...I-I'm scared enough as it is...Tommy..." she continued to weep softly into her hands.

"Shh, sweet, it's all right. C'mon ye know I'm an Irishman, we've got short tempers... and I just lost control after all these years of craving 'ta beat me brother senseless for just up an' leavin' us without a care in the world. I'm sorry ye had 'ta see that, I promise it won't happen again," Tommy whispered, planting gentle kisses on her face as he pulled her into his chest, letting her cry into his soft shirt.

"How c-can ye be so s-sure? Ye were like a rabid beast...ye were... I hardly r-recognized ye," Shannon sobbed.

"I know I lost control, but when I promise ye somethin'...I keep that promise. I swear by Saint Patrick it won't happen again," Tommy told her gently.

"I-I'm just so scared, T-Tommy," Shannon sniffled into his shirt. "How the hell are we getting to Chicago...what if ye can't find work...what if..." she trailed off as more shuddering sobs overtook her.

"Shh, it's all right. Like I told ye before, don't worry yer wee pretty head about it, I'll figure everything out and we'll be just fine. I swear it," Tommy whispered, kissing her softly. "Just go to sleep, fill that pretty head a yers with sweet dreams an' rest yer eyes...there's absoultely nothing 'ta be afraid of, nothing 'ta worry about...just sleep, my sweet Shanny." He continued to stroke her hair until her breathing slowed a bit into a more normal, calm rhythm. "Shh...it's all right, love."

...

Joseph finally managed to peel himself off the deck, feeling like he'd just been run over by the RMS Titanic itself. He was tired and bruised as he slowly shuffled up the stairs to the first class deck and inside the ship.

He slowly but surely made his way back to his cabin and collapsed onto the sofa in the parlor room, too weak to even make it to his bedroom. "Oh God...how you've damned my despicable soul!" he shouted up at the ceiling.

"I'm going to hell and I know it... I'm good fer nothin' scoundrel in yer eyes, God... I've failed ye and I know it...I really am just a lost soul, a lost, despicable, horrible soul... a shell of a man. I'm damned," he muttered to himself, a single tear rolling down his bruised left cheek.

"I'm nothing in yer eyes, God...a shell of a man."

* * *

Plz review your feedback means the world to me! :)


	12. Of Anger and Anxiety

**A/N: Thanks to** **spikessweetgirl75 for reviewing and aloha4life for following/favoriting; you guys are awesome! :)**

**Here's a mini chapter just because I want to be able to say I posted 3 chapters in one weekend after procrastinating for so long XD **

* * *

_Of Anger and Anxiety _

_Saturday, April 13th, 1912._

The next morning, Tommy woke up startled, realizing that he was alone in the bed. He rubbed his eyes and stretched his arms above his head with a loud yawn as he looked around the cabin. The Hannigans were nowhere to be seen and he figured they'd gone to breakfast; but where was Shannon?

He scrambled out of bed, glad that he'd slept in his clothes, and ran out of the cabin. _Where the hell did that girl wander off to now? _He scratched his ear as he headed towards the third class dining room.

Upon reaching the staircase that led up to F deck, he saw her sitting on one of the steps with her face in her hands. "Eye, Shanny, what're ye doin' out here?" he asked softly, taking a seat beside her.

"N-Nothing..." Shannon choked out, turning away from him.

"Yer not mad at me, are ye?" Tommy asked worriedly, scooting closer and pulling her into a hug.

"Yes...No...I don' know..." Shannon stuttered, more hot tears pouring out from her eyes and onto his shirt.

"How long 'ave ye been sittin' out here?" Tommy prodded, the concern evident in his voice. He'd noticed how dark her eyes were, as if she'd barely slept a wink all night.

"Since two," Shannon answered quietly.

"Yer tellin' me you've been out here cryin' since 2 AM?" Tommy's eyes widened in disbelief. "Why, sweet?"

Shannon wiped her nose on her sleeve and sniffled. "I-I couldn't sleep," she told him.

Tommy planted a soft kiss below her left eye, where a single tear was about to fall. "Was it because I fought with Joseph?" he asked her.

"N-Not entirely...just because of everything," Shannon admitted, resting her head against his chest.

"Ye mean like our plans fer Chicago; me work an' travelin' there?" Tommy pushed gently.

Shannon merely nodded and let out another loud sniffle. "Ye keep telling me not 'ta worry, but I can't help it... I'm so scared, what if we're even worse off than we were back in Ireland?" she asked, looking up at him, teary-eyed.

Tommy shook his head. "We're going to be just fine, sweet. I promise ye. Now you leave all the worrying 'ta me, I don't want ye 'ta give this another thought and I mean it," he told her.

"But I can't help it!" Shannon snapped at him, blowing her nose in her long teal skirt. "I can't help it! Ye know I've always been anxiety ridden about even wee little things!" She sniffled again and put her head back against his chest.

"Please try, sweet. I hate seein' ye all worked up an' miserable, I'm still so sorry fer gettin' into it with Joseph last night 'cause I feel like that's what started all this," Tommy whispered in her left ear, kissing it softly. "C'mon, let's go up an' have breakfast, ye'll feel better with food," he said, slowly pulling her up with him.

"All right," Shannon agreed quietly, slowly following him up the stairs to the dining saloon.

...

Joseph awoke to the sound of pounding at his door. "Who's it?" he yelled groggily, still feeling too weak to get up.

The knocking only got louder and more aggressive. "It's Carrick, ye eejit!" his partner yelled back, an annoyed edge in his voice.

"C' min then!" Joseph shouted, nearly toppling off the sofa.

"I can't, ye damn eejit, the door's locked!" Carrick snapped, kicking the door so hard even the handle shook. "Open up!" he huffed.

"Fine!" Joseph grumbled, rolling off the sofa and all but crawling to open the door.

Carrick stalked into the parlor room with a wide smirk across his face. "Guess what?"

Joseph just glared at him. "What?"

Carrick plopped himself down on the sofa. "I know where Hockley keeps his safe, it's in 'is room," he said coolly, lighting a cigar.

"And how the hell does that help us?" Joseph asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Now we know where 'ta go 'ta steal it, keep up will ye?" Carrick rolled his eyes.

"Oy, brilliant plan, Rick-o. But what about the part where we get arrested fer breakin' into the sonofabitch's room?" Joseph continued to glare at his partner.

"We're professional rogues, we won't get caught!" Carrick growled at him.

Joseph just scowled. "Yer insane," he muttered under his breath.

Carrick ignored him. "So, nice swollen eye, how was the fight with yer wee brother?" He changed the subject with a smirk.

"Oy, it was great, after ye left me there 'ta get pummeled," Joseph snapped at him. "Bloody coward," he added, still scowling.

"It wasn't my fight, I was just gettin' in the way. Yer brother was a madman," Carrick interjected, holding up his arms defensively.

"Screw it, I'm done talkin' about me brother, so if that's the real reason ye came in here ye can get the feck out," Joseph hissed, stalking across the room into his bedroom to change, as he'd slept in his clothes from the night before. He slammed the door behind him.

"Fine, be that way!" Carrick shouted after him. "When yer done bein' a baby ye can meet me in the dining room!" With that, he stormed out of his partner's cabin.

...

Tommy and Shannon sat at a table in the back of the third class dining room, eating a quiet breakfast of eggs and toast. It was only about nine o'clock in the morning. "Ye look so upset, sweet, eat somethin'," Tommy coaxed his girlfriend, taking a sip of his coffee.

Shannon shook her head. "I'm not hungry, I told ye," she insisted, pushing her plate away.

"I know yer worried, sweet, but I need ye 'ta eat because ye'll feel better with some food in ye," Tommy told her, pushing the plate back towards her.

"But I just don't feel hungry," Shannon argued with a soft sigh, taking a small sip of her tea. "I get emotional at times and I can't always control it, ye know that...this is one of those times because of everything that's goin' on. I feel so many different things right now; I'm homesick, afraid, anxious, and even a wee bit confused, and last night they all just unleashed themselves at once," she explained quietly.

"That was my fault fer losin' me temper...I shouldn't have fought with me brother in front a' ye like that, I'm so sorry, sweet," Tommy apologized again. He didn't care how many times he'd told her that he was sorry, he meant it and he'd continue to say it to relieve his guilt.

"It's all right, love... I just... I don't even know sometimes," Shannon interjected softly as more tears formed in her eyes. "I'm just so scared, and I don't think I'll stop bein' scared until me fears are proven wrong," she told him.

"Look, sweet, I'm sure I'll get a job on the harbor... there's tons of those jobs and like ye said last night, they need strong Irishmen workin' with the boats. Ye said it yerself that ye were sure I'd get a job," Tommy reminded her gently.

"First of all, I was a wee bit past me liquor limit... I felt fantastic. I do believe ye'll get the job, though, an' I know ye'll figure out how 'ta get us to Chicago, but there's always this voice in the back a' me head that says everything is going to be all right... but what if it isn't? There's always that what if, and the what if is what scares me so bad," Shannon explained, burying her face in her hands again.

"Just ignore that pesky voice then, because we're invincible together, sweet. Ye know that everything is going 'ta be amazing once we get settled down in Chicago, anything ye want, I'll give to ye," Tommy promised, getting up to sit in the chair beside her. "I love ye more than the world itself, an' I hate seein' ye so anxiety ridden, so I'm gonna make sure that that pretty head a' yers is full a' sweet dreams tonight, sweet dreams fer me sweet girl," he whispered, putting a comforting arm around her.

"I love ye," Shannon mumbled into his shoulder.

"I love ye more." Tommy planted a tender kiss on the top of her head. Suddenly, they heard more footsteps approaching the table. It was Jack, followed by Fabrizio and Helga, coming to join them for breakfast. "See, sweet? Now we've got company, everything is gonna be just fine," he said soothingly.

...

Joseph made his way down to the first class dining room, where he spotted his partner sitting alone at a table eating what appeared to be Belgian waffles topped with fresh fruit and cream. He sucked in a deep breath and walked over, sitting across from him. "Looks good, 'ts that?" he asked.

Carrick looked up from his breakfast and glared at him. "Belgian waffles, I ordered ye some 'cause I knew ye'd come down eventually...the cooks are makin' it now," he replied coolly, sucking some strawberry residue off his fork.

"Thanks." Joseph nodded and helped himself to the cup of coffee in front of him.

"Don't mention it." Carrick nodded also, biting into another piece of his gooey waffle.

The two Irishmen ate in silence, though they absolutely infuriated each other at times, they knew that they needed each other to survive in their insanity ridden world of crime and lies.

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	13. Of Teacups and Treacherers

**A/N: Thanks Payton918 for following/favoriting and spikessweetgirl75 for reviewing, it means a lot! **

**NOTE: My PM-buddy and fellow Tommy Ryan lover, TheEndsongAbyssXV, is currently working on a Tommy/OC story and she was nice enough to show me some of it so watch for it and check it out when she posts it ;)**

* * *

_Of Teacups And Treacherers_

Back in third class, everyone was eating breakfast and talking about their plans for the day. "I think we're gonna take it easy today," Tommy said, biting into his forkful of eggs as he shot a sideways glance at his girlfriend. He didn't want to push her too much after her rough night last night.

Jack nodded, taking a sip of his coffee. "How's about we all go sit up on deck, ya know, relax with the nice sea breeze," he suggested brightly.

"Questa è una grande idea, Jack!" Fabrizio piped up, spreading some marmalade on his toast. "Eh, bella Helga?" he asked his girlfriend.

"Oh, ja!" Helga giggled in reply, sipping her hot tea.

"So are you two in?" Jack asked, looking up at the Irish sweethearts.

Tommy shrugged and turned to his girlfriend. "Ye want to?" he asked her softly.

Shannon flashed her boyfriend a faint smile. "Eye, why not," she agreed, gently stirring her tea as she put a little more sugar in it to wake herself up.

"Great! I think I'll do some more sketches, and maybe we can play poker," Jack said with a wide grin as he finished off his third piece of toast.

"Sì, we play with 'da lucky cards we use to win our tickets," Fabrizio chimed in excitedly. Ever since his friend had taught him how to play, it was now his favorite game and way to pass time.

...

Joseph and Carrick had finished their breakfast, and were now taking a leisurely stroll along the first class promenade deck as they discussed their plans for how to try and steal the Heart of the Ocean necklace.

Carrick adjusted his bowtie. "After dinner tonight, we'll spy on Hockley in the smoking room, then follow him back to his cabin..." he mused.

Joseph lit his pipe and popped it into his mouth. "Yes, go on..." he prodded.

"I say we hide and just as he's about to go into 'is room, we strike 'im over the head with something an' knock him out, then we'll drag him into his room and shut the door...free to pilfer through his things as we please," Carrick finished with a twisted smirk.

"Yer one sick bastard, Rick-o," Joseph told his partner, a teasing twinkle in his alert amber eyes.

"Eye, thank ye, Joey," Carrick replied, a glimmer of pure malice in his bright green pools.

As the two men walked towards the covered bridge area, they spotted Mr. Caledon Hockley himself, yelling at his fiancé for God only knew what this time. They exchanged a devilish look and continued on their way.

Carrick scratched his chin. "Do ye remember how O'Roarke used 'ta make us alphabetize his files by hand, an' if just one was outta place, he'd yell and throw 'em all over the place an' make us start over?" he asked his partner.

Joseph merely nodded. "Eye," he replied. "An' also how he'd keep most of the profits fer himself an' cheat us out of our hard earned salary," he added, an edge of bitterness in his voice.

"Ye ever regret what ye did?" Carrick asked him suddenly, out of nowhere.

"Why?" Joseph glared back at his partner.

"Ye just seem so skiddish sometimes, an' it makes me suspicious of yer motives; if yer really with our cause, or if yer desperate fer a way out," Carrick mused coolly, as if what he'd just said was of minor importance.

"Look, it's not exactly easy bein' who we are...constantly livin' in fear of people findin' out what ye've done, just 'cause I'm skiddish doesn't mean I'm gonna betray ye or our cause," Joseph snapped at him. Even though he knew his partner's subtle accusation was in fact true, he couldn't dare admit to it. He was too scared.

"No need to be snippy, Joey, I was just wonderin'," Carrick interjected, holding his arms up defensively.

"Well, Rick-o, I don't really feel like talking about O'Roarke right now...or ever again...so drop the subject," Joseph told him with a scowl.

"Fine," Carrick huffed.

"Good." Joseph nodded as he finished off his pipe.

...

Out on the third class deck, many passengers sat around enjoying the cool sea breeze and warm yellow sunshine as it radiated down onto the sparkling turquoise waves of the Northern Atlantic. The rest of the morning ticked away.

Tommy, Jack, and Fabrizio sat in a circle on the deck, in the middle of an intense poker game. So far, Jack was suspected to have the best hand, but it was hard to know for sure because his poker face was so good.

The girls sat on a nearby bench. Shannon was writing in her diary, and Helga was working on her needlepoint. Neither of them spoke, as they were both very focused on what they were doing.

"Hit," Fabrizio said, looking up from his cards.

"Here ya go." Jack slid him a card face-down across the deck.

"Grazie." Fabrizio nodded.

"I'll take a hit as well," Tommy interjected.

"Here ya go." Jack slid another face-down card across the deck.

"Thanks," Tommy replied.

Jack grinned at his opponents. "All right, moment of truth..." he started. "Tommy?" he prodded the Irishman sitting next to him.

Tommy turned over his cards. "Full house," he said. He had three kings and two sixes, or sixes full of kings.

Jack nodded and looked at his Italian companion. "Fabri?"

Fabrizio scowled and threw his cards down. "Straight," he grumbled, revealing a hand of a nine, eight, seven, six, and five.

Jack let out an airy chuckle as he turned over his own cards. "Royal flush!" he exclaimed triumphantly. His hand consisted of a king, queen, jack, ten, and nine all of spades.

"Damn, Jack-o, yer good at this!" Tommy laughed, lighting a fresh cigarette.

"He always win! I a' no know how he does it!" Fabrizio threw his arms up in exhasperation.

"I've got my ways," Jack told them with a sly grin.

"Eye, apparently so," Tommy commented, a wily twinkle in his warm hazel eyes. "Writin' a book in there, Shanny?" he teased his girlfriend, looking up from their card game.

Shannon glared at her boyfriend. "No, I've just got a lot on me mind," she sighed, turning to yet another page.

Tommy blew out a dark puff of smoke and let out a nervous chuckle. "Bad joke, I'm sorry fer teasin' ye," he aplogized.

Shannon managed a faint smile. "It's all right, love," she told him softly. She glanced back down at the two full pages of her writing as she tried to think of how to word her next thought.

_April 13th 1912_

_I was so optimistic at first to settle down with the man that I love, have a few babies, and experience a new city in a new land for a bit before returning to our impoverished village in the great Emerald Isle._

_But now that we're so close to America; I'm so afraid at the same time. And homesick. And confused. What if we're even worse off than we were back home in Dunfanaghy? Then we'd be stuck there with no way back to Ireland._

_I do trust my Tommy to get us to Chicago, and I'm sure that he'll get a job on the Lake Michigan harbor with the boats, being the big strong Irishman that he is-but I'm just so worried about the 'what if's'. This voice in my head that keeps asking me 'what if it all goes wrong?' is driving me absolutely mad. I wish it would shut up!_

_Not to mention all the shite that's going on with Tommy's brother, Joseph, and this mysterious partner of his called Carrick. It's like Tommy doesn't see his brother for five years, now here he is a first class man on the same ship as us, and they're obviously up to no good considering we suspect they murdered Billy O'Roarke._

_Was it so much for me to hope for a peaceful voyage on this so called Ship of Dreams? __Apparently so._

_I don't think my worries will end until my fears are proven wrong, and that's just something I'm going to have to deal with. It's so difficult, and rather annoying, but I just have to find a way to suck it up. I trust Tommy, I love him and he loves me, he'd do anything for me... everything will be all right. _

Unable to think of anything else to write, she slammed her diary shut and let out another miserable sigh. Beside her, Helga looked over with a confused expression across her face.

"Don't worry about it, Helga," she said dismissively.

"Ja, greit," the Norwegian girl replied with a nod, going back to her needlepoint.

The men continued to play poker, and it was Tommy's turn to be the dealer. He shuffled the cards again and dealt them out to Jack and Fabrizio. "All right, let's go," he said. "I'm gonna beat the pants off a' ye this time, Jack-o." He flashed the blonde artist a wily smirk.

...

"So, Joey, I've been thinkin'..." Carrick started, closing his cabin door. "That brother a yers and his wee girlfriend, they haven't been able 'ta figure out anything else...have they?" he asked, an almost worried edge in his voice.

"All they know is that we're up 'ta something, and they were suspicious about O'Roarke's murder but they have no way to prove it was us," Joseph answered, popping his pipe in his mouth and sitting down on the sofa.

"Good, keep it that way," Carrick snapped. "Because if ye let 'em find out what we've done, we'd be done for!"

"I realize that, so I will!" Joseph hissed in reply. "I'm no eejit, I know what I'm doing!"

Carrick simply nodded. "Make sure of it," he said, pouring himself a glass of wine. "Merlot?" he offered.

Joseph shook his head. "No, thanks. It's time fer lunch anyways," he replied with a dismissive wave.

"Shall we go down, then? I've a taste fer some a' that salmon myself." Carrick grinned at his partner.

"Eye, let's go," Joseph agreed, walking to open the door.

The two mysterious Irishmen left Carrick's cabin and made their way down to the Palm Court for lunch. They sat at a table in the back by themselves and waited for a steward to come and take their order.

Carrick sipped his wine. "So, should we discuss our plans fer when we arrive in New York City?" he inquired.

Joseph nodded as he helped himself to a glass of water. "Eye, we should," he replied.

"I was thinkin' we get a nice flat somewhere downtown, an' run our scam business outta it. That way we don't have 'ta waste money on a separate office space," Carrick suggested, scratching his ear.

"Good thinkin', Rick-o," Joseph agreed. "I also think we should up our game a bit, ye know...'ta draw more wealthy businesspeople into our scams," he added, puffing on his pipe.

Just as he'd said that, however, a steward with blonde hair and glasses came over to take their order. "What can I get for you, gentlemen?" he asked curteously.

Carrick shot a stern glare at his partner and answered first. "Salmon."

Joseph merely nodded. "What he said, salmon."

The steward nodded and promised to have their food right out for them, and then rushed away. As soon as he was out of sight and earshot, Carrick spoke again. "Ye eejit! Can't ye wait 'til there's no waiter standin' over yer shoulder? We can't get caught!" he scolded his partner.

Joseph glowered at him. "I'm sorry! I didn't know he was standin' there! Besides, he didn't even hear us," he snapped defensively.

"Just be more careful," Carrick told him. "As I said, I don' fancy jail," he muttered.

"Neither do I," Joseph grumbled back.

Carrick managed a faint smile and took another sip of his wine. "Anyways, Joey, what's been on yer mind?" he asked curiously, changing the subject.

Joseph merely shrugged and re-lit his pipe. "Eye, what hasn't been on me mind?" He let out a bitter chuckle. "Just a wee bit a' everything, ye know."

They continued to chat about more plans for their scam business in New York City, how to steal the Heart of the Ocean, and also a bit more about their late boss, Mr. Billy O'Roarke, and how glad they were that he was out of the picture. In hushed voices, of course. After about twenty minutes, the steward came back with their salmon dishes.

"Anything else I can get for you, gentlemen?" he asked them.

"No, thank ye," Carrick answered.

"Not fer me either, thanks," Joseph added.

The steward nodded and left them to enjoy their lunch. They ate quickly so that they could go relax in the lounge area and plot some more about how to steal the Heart of the Ocean necklace from Mr. Caledon Hockley.

...

Down in third class, everyone was finishing their lunch. Jack had won two out of three poker games, Tommy had won one, and Fabrizio had won zero. "I a' can never win at that game!" the scowling Italian man muttered.

Jack chuckled at his friend's expression. "Keep practicing, Fabri, it gets easier," he told him.

Fabrizio nodded as he bit into his bread roll. "Sì, mi amore esso... I love it, I a' just never win," he said.

Tommy grinned at him. "Maybe that's because ye always play against Jack-o here, an' he's the king a' poker," he commented.

"Sì, probabilmente," Fabrizio agreed, making his friends laugh.

"I'm also the king of the world," Jack joked. More laughter erupted from the small group.

Tommy glanced over at his girlfriend. "Feelin' any better, sweet?" he asked in a low whisper, planting a soft kiss against her temple.

Shannon smiled faintly at her boyfriend. "Eye, a bit...I just have to trust ye that everything will be all right," she whispered in reply, softly kissing him below his ear as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"It will, I promise ye." Tommy flashed her a soft grin and put his arm around her.

"So do you guys wanna go back out on the deck?" Jack piped up suddenly, finishing off his cheese and pickles. "Maybe Fabri can finally win a poker game," he teased his friend.

Fabrizio shot him a joking glare. "Stai zitto...a' you shut up," he laughed.

Jack smirked at him. "C'mon, let's go," he said.

They all got up and walked back out onto the third class deck. The guys sat around in a circle again to play poker, while the girls went back to sit on their bench and try to talk to each other.

Suddenly, Helga's eye was caught by something in the distance, and she looked up. "Hun er sparkly..." she mused with a dreamy twinkle in her bright blue eyes.

It was Rose, coming down the steps from first class. She wore a simple light blue dress and her vibrant ginger curls were up in an elegant bun. She was carrying two dresses, a plum one and a red one, and a large grin was spreading across her porcelain doll-like face.

Jack stood up instantly. "Hey, Rose," he said with a grin.

Rose smiled at him. "Hello, Jack," she replied.

"Did you wanna talk about something?" Jack asked curiously.

"Actually, I came down here to see if Shannon and Helga would join me for tea," Rose clarified. She looked directly at Shannon. "I've been thinking about your situation, and I thought perhaps this could be another opportunity to spy on Tommy's brother and that partner of his," she explained.

"So, yer inviting us 'ta tea...in first class?" Shannon's mouth dropped wide open and she smiled.

"I første klasse?" Helga's eyes lit up in excitement.

"Yes, and I brought dresses for you girls as well," Rose answered happily, handing the red one to Helga and the plum one to Shannon.

...

Joseph and Carrick sat in the lounge, near the Grand Staircase, having a nice glass of brandy while they chatted about their plans for their quest to steal the precious blue diamond known as the Heart of the Ocean.

Carrick smirked at his partner as he lit a cigar. "So once it's ours, I say we sell it on the black market...eh, Joey?"

Joseph took a sip of his brandy and shrugged. "Depends on how much money we can get off of it, Rick-o."

Carrick nodded. "Eye, valid point," he agreed.

Joseph returned the smirk. "Eye," he said.

"So how much do ye think we could get off it?" Carrick asked curiously.

"Dunno. I definitely think we should sell it fer even more than it's worth though," Joseph replied coolly.

"We need 'ta do some research an' find out how much it's worth then," Carrick mused, puffing on his cigar.

"Eye, an' then double it." Joseph flashed his partner a wily smirk.

"Precisely." Carrick nodded, a malicious sparkle in his bright green eyes.

...

Back in third class, everyone was in Jack and Fabrizio's cabin. The girls had changed for tea, and they stared at themselves in the mirror, dewy-eyed, wearing their fancy dresses.

"Ye look beautiful, sweet," Tommy told his girlfriend with a grin. He wrapped his arms around her waist and planted soft kisses on the side of her face.

"Thank ye, love." Shannon smiled at her boyfriend and kissed him back. She wore a long, sparkly plum colored dress and her hair was up in an elegant bun.

"Helga, you are bella signorina," Fabrizio gushed to his Norwegian sweetheart.

"Takk," Helga giggled, blushing a bit. She wore a long, silky red dress with black lace and her hair was also up in an elegant bun.

"Come, it's time for tea," Rose said, smiling with excitement as she nodded towards the door. She was so happy to have an opportunity for some adventure for a change.

Tommy looked deep into his girlfriend's watery, bright blue eyes and pulled her close to him. "Are ye sure yer all right doin' this?" he asked softly. "I know ye've got a lot on yer mind right now, sweet," he whispered, kissing away a tear that had formed under her left eye.

Shannon nodded, planting a tender kiss near his nose, where there was a bloody scrape from his fight with his brother the night before. "I love ye and I know ye want to figure this out, so I don't mind so much," she whispered in reply, rubbing her nose softly against his.

"I love ye more, an' I'll wait right here fer when ye get back," Tommy promised with a gentle kiss.

"Vi gå til første klasse nå?" Helga interjected eagerly. She couldn't wait to go and help herself to all of the luxury teas and desserts the highest class on the ship had to offer.

"Eye, yes, Helga...we'll go now," Shannon laughed, slowly breaking the embrace she was in with her boyfriend.

Rose's bright green eyes seemed to twinkle with utter delight as she ushered the girls out of the cabin. "You must try the scones, they're out of this world," she was saying as the door shut behind them.

As soon as they'd left, a huge grin spread across Tommy's face and he plopped himself down on the floor. "I made pleasant love 'ta Shan last night, ye know, after the party," he boasted to his friends.

Fabrizio's eyes widened and he plopped down on the floor across from him. "Sì?" he asked. "Is a' so ironic, I a' show mi amore for bella Helga last night too!" he said with a prideful grin.

Jack bust out laughing, plopping himself down onto the floor as well. "Yeah, I know Fabri did... at first I thought that was a butter stain on his pants, but when miss Helga had a matching stain on her bunad skirt; I knew differently," he teased his best friend. "I still can't believe her father hasn't found out yet," he added with a smirk.

Fabrizio shot him a joking glare. "Stai zitto, you a' shut your mouth."

Tommy laughed and pulled a small gold ring out of his trousers' pocket. It was shaped like two hands clasping a heart with a crown on top of them. "Can I ask ye lads a question?" He nervously twiddled the ring between his fingers.

"Sure." Jack grinned at the jittery Irishman.

"I want 'ta ask Shanny 'ta marry me, but I don't know when I should do it...today, tomorrow... I'm just not sure," Tommy explained, wiping his sweaty palms on his trousers. "This is me grandmother's old claddagh ring, it represents love, loyalty, and friendship... an considerin' Shan and I have all of that, there's no better ring 'ta give her," he told them as an afterthought.

"Ask her when you feel the time is right," Jack told him. "It's obvious you two mean the world to each other, I'm positive she'll say yes... do it today, or in a few days," he added. His bright seafoam pools held a sly glimmer in them.

"Is amore!" Fabrizio piped up.

"Eye, thank ye, Jack-o." Tommy grinned with a satisfied nod. "You too, Fabri," he laughed.

...

Up in the first class lounge, afternoon tea had started. Rose sat at a table in the center of the room with Shannon and Helga. They were drinking warm tea out of little porcelain teacups and eating scones and eclairs on little plates.

Shannon glanced across the room. "There's Joseph an' Carrick...the sonofabitches," she muttered under her breath.

Rose looked up from her teacup. "I wonder what they're saying, it's hard to hear them from this distance," she mused, biting into a fruit scone.

"It just sounds like hushed whispers from here," Shannon said. "Those conivin' bastards wouldn't speak up anyways; they're afraid a' people finding out what they're up to," she added, a bitter edge in her voice.

"It's too bad there were no open tables any closer," Rose commented, delicately sipping her warm tea.

"I honestly don't think that would've been smart 'ta sit that close though, Joseph would recognize me immediately," Shannon told her.

"Ah, of course. You're right." Rose nodded as she helped herself to another fruit scone.

They both looked over at Helga, who was being awfully quiet, to see her shoving eclair after eclair into her mouth as if someone were about to take them away from her. She proceeded to gulp down the rest of her tea.

Rose subtly cleared her throat. "Er, Helga...?"

Helga looked up at her, confused. "Ja?"

Rose smiled awkwardly. "We're trying not to call attention to ourselves, remember?" she whispered as nicely as she possibly could.

Helga nodded. "Ja," she said. "Jeg beklager," she apologized, her face reddening a bit as she slowly bit into the last eclair.

"It's all right, Helga," Shannon laughed, slowly sipping her tea. "Just try to eat an' drink more like a first class lady," she told her.

"Ja, greit," Helga replied with a nod, looking around the room and trying to imitate how one lady was holding her teacup.

Meanwhile at their table near the Grand Staircase, Joseph and Carrick had a weird sense that they were being watched. They kept glancing around the room behind their table, and every time, their eyes gravitated towards one of the center tables.

Carrick scratched his ear as he sipped his brandy. "The bloody hell is goin on...?" he mused, looking back and forth with wide eyes.

Joseph shrugged and looked over at the center table. "It's got 'ta be a trick a' me eyes, but the lady in the plum dress looks an awful lot like a certain Miss O'Neal," he muttered suspiciously.

"Yer brother's wee girlfriend?" Carrick asked him, a bit confused.

"Eye..." Joseph nodded. "Excuse me one second," he said, slowly getting up out of his chair.

He made his way over to their table and cleared his throat. "Excuse me, Miss, have we met before?" he asked, politely extending his hand towards Shannon.

Shannon's eyes widened in shock and she immediately started coughing into her fist. She couldn't believe he'd recognized her from their distance, and was now incredibly afraid of what he'd do if he realized that she was in fact spying on him.

"Have you ever been to New York, Mr. Ryan?" Rose interjected quickly.

"I have not, Miss DeWitt Bukater," Joseph replied, a confused expression across his face.

"That's where my friend lives, I thought perhaps that is where you met her," Rose explained with an awkward smile.

"Oh, no then, nevermind," Joseph muttered, his face reddening in embarassment. "I'm sorry, Miss," he apologized, scrambling back to his table.

Shannon sighed in relief. "That was close, thank ye, Rose," she said.

Rose smiled faintly. "Don't mention it," she replied.

* * *

Your feedback means the world to me! ;)


	14. Stakes Ever Higher

**A/N: Thanks to spikessweergirl75 and Ilma for their nice reviews! And also thanks to my cousin who guest reviewed a previous chapter!**

**Enjoy this next update! :)**

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_Stakes Ever Higher_

Joseph sat back down at their table, beet red in the face. "Eye, I was mistaken," he told his partner.

Carrick scratched his chin and puffed on the cigar he'd just lit. "So it wasn't yer brother's wee girlfriend?" he asked curiously, a wide smirk across his face.

"She was a friend of Miss DeWitt Bukater, who apparently lives in New York... but damn, I swear she could be the O'Neal girl's long lost twin sister or somethin'," Joseph muttered, embarassed.

"Well, now ye can relax, no one's watchin' us," Carrick mused, taking a sip of his brandy.

"Eye." Joseph merely nodded. "It was foolish a' me 'ta even think that was her, I mean... how would she know Miss DeWitt Bukater or be able 'ta even get up here from third class?"

"Dunno." Carrick shrugged.

...

Tommy, Jack, and Fabrizio sat on the floor of the cabin playing yet another game of poker.

"So a' what is this story con il fratello...with a' your brother?" Fabrizio asked curiously. He'd only gotten bits and pieces from overhearing his friends' conversations.

"Eye, it's a long story, boyo," Tommy replied miserably, sprawling himself out on the floor. "But I suppose I could tell ye," he added with a faint smile.

"Sì, you a' tell me now!" Fabrizio prodded eagerly.

Jack laughed at his friend's excitement. "Calm yourself, _ragazzo mio_."

Tommy put his arms behind his head. "I dunno, should I really keep tellin' people about this?" he asked nervously.

"I think _ragazzo mio_ can keep a secret, but you better start talking before Fabri wets his pants," Jack replied with a teasing smirk.

"Eye, all right, all right... I'll tell ye," Tommy agreed, a wily smirk of his own spreading across his face.

Fabrizio's warm hazel eyes widened and he turned his full attention on the nervous Irishman. "Go on, I listen close," he urged him.

Tommy nodded and scratched his chin. "Eye...I'll start from the beginning. So five years ago me brother, Joseph, abandoned our family to go an' stay with his best friend Billy O'Roarke at the O'Roarke's beach house somewhere on a coast in Wales. The O'Roarke's were a very wealthy family, the only wealthy family in all the village of Dunfanaghy, Donegal...where I'm from," he started.

"Me brother said that he'd return at the end of the summer, but he never did... he merely sent us a note sayin' that he was done with us an' that he'd moved on 'ta bigger and better things. Apparently while we were starvin' back home, Joseph and this Carrick man were eatin' like kings with Mr. Billy O'Roarke because they'd gone into business together or somethin' I presume. Anyways, a few months ago, news broke out that O'Roarke had been found murdered inside his beach house...the culprits unknown, but Shanny an' I have different ideas on that. Me mam was worried sick fer me brother's safety, thinkin' he was in danger too...but still Joseph didn't contact us 'ta ease her old heart," he continued.

"So fast forward 'ta me an' Shanny takin' a walk out on the third class deck, the day we boarded this magnificent dream ship, eh? Who do we run into, by chance, after five whole years...but me very own brother, a first class man in the finest clothes who eats the finest of foods! He claims he's goin' to America 'cause O'Roarke is waitin' fer him in New York City, but me an' Shan knew he was a liar the second we saw him... we heard from Mr. and Mrs. O'Roarke themselves the fate a' their only son. Joseph didn't even mention this partner a' his, Carrick, yet. Now Shan and I were curious, we had 'ta find out what the hell was goin' on, so we spied a few times... and Jack-o an' Rose helped too once. So far we've collected that the stories don't add up, because when I confronted me brother to his face about O'Roarke's murder and how it didn't make sense fer him to be meetin' him in New York, he denied ever sayin' that. Shanny and I know that Joseph and Carrick are up 'ta no good...we think that they murdered Billy O'Roarke. Now we just need the proof," he finished.

Fabrizio's mouth hung wide open. "Dio mio," he muttered in disbelief.

Jack shook his head in disgust. "That brother of yours is something else," he agreed.

Tommy picked up his card fan off the floor. "It's all right, lads, there's nothin' ye can do 'ta change it. Me brother is who he is, let's just keep playin' poker," he said. With that, the three young men continued their game.

...

Up in first class, Joseph and Carrick had gone back up to the latter's suite room to discuss facts about the Heart of the Ocean necklace.

"It's estimated to be around 327,000 United States dollars, so like 226,000 Irish pounds," Joseph said, looking up from the book they'd stolen from the ship's second class library.

"Jaysus, that's an expensive necklace all right," Carrick mused, lighting yet another cigar.

"So we'll steal it and sell it fer around 660,000 dollars when we get 'ta New York City," Joseph decided with a wily smirk.

"Sounds good 'ta me, Joey," Carrick agreed. There was a glint of eagerness in his bright green eyes, as, he absolutely could not wait to get his hands on the necklace that was worth more than his entire family combined.

...

The girls finished their tea and desserts quickly, eager to see their boyfriends and tell them of their first class experience. "Thank ye so much fer letting us have tea up here," Shannon said, taking one last sip of her warm tea.

Helga nodded her agreement. "Ja, takk," she added, making sure to grab all the leftover scones, as she'd already finished off the eclairs.

Rose smiled at the two third class girls. "It was my pleasure," she replied. She enjoyed their company far more than some of the society girls she was forced to deal with, and was a bit sad to see them go. "Hopefully I'll see you girls again soon."

Shannon was confused. "Aren't ye coming back down so we can change and give ye the dresses back?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"No, my coming down before was risky enough, as I'm in hot water as it is with my mother and fiancé for partying with you all last night. You can keep the dresses," Rose told them, managing a faint smile.

"Yer letting us keep the dresses?" Shannon's bright blue eyes widened in shocked delight, as did Helga's.

"Yes, I have so many," Rose insisted. "Go on, you don't want to keep the boys waiting too long." She smiled wider as she shooed them off.

The two girls grinned at each other, waving at Rose as they ran out of the first class lounge. They felt like they'd just won some sort of lottery. They ran all the way back to third class and barged into cabin G-60, where the men were playing poker.

Tommy scrambled to his feet at once, embracing his girlfriend in a tight hug. "What did ye find out?" he asked eagerly.

Shannon shook her head. "Unfortunately, nothing; it was too hard 'ta hear 'em from where we were sitting," she replied, an edge of disappointment in her voice.

"That's all right, sweet, thank ye fer going up there anyways," Tommy told her, planting a gentle kiss on her lips.

"Don't mention it, love," Shannon replied, softly rubbing her nose against his and kissing his scrape again. "Yer brother almost recognized me, but Rose covered it an' said I was a friend of hers who lives in New York, so he ran off all embarassed," she added with a faint giggle.

"He's a bloody fool." Tommy rolled his eyes. "Remind me 'ta make it up to ye later," he said in a low whisper as he kissed her again. There was a wily, lust-filled twinkle in his warm hazel eyes.

"Eye, I will," Shannon giggled, resting her head against his chest.

Helga planted a soft kiss on her boyfriend's face. "Jeg tok med disse," she whispered, handing him the scones. "Gode scones," she added with a mischevious smile.

Fabrizio grinned at his girlfriend and kissed her back. "Grazie, mio dolce," he thanked her happily, accepting the delicous first class desserts.

"Jeg elsker deg, Fabrizio," Helga giggled.

"Ti amo, bella Helga," Fabrizio laughed. "You come for walk with me, eh?" he asked her.

"Ja, vi gå!" Helga replied excitedly. She loved going on walks with her boyfriend, because it usually led to things that her father would not approve of if he knew.

Jack rolled his eyes at them. "I feel like I'm surrounded by honeymooners," he joked.

Fabrizio shot his best friend a teasing glare. "You hush your mouth," he told him, opening the door for Helga.

...

"Ye know, Rick-o... Mr. Hockley's future mother-in-law probably has some nice jewelry as well," Joseph mused, puffing his pipe.

"Eye, that's true, Joey...an' I bet there's a lot of money in his safe," Carrick agreed, grinning maliciously as he poured himself a glass of wine.

Joseph closed the book he was looking at. "So we're definitely gonna follow him up here after his smokes and brandy an' knock him out?" he asked for clarification.

Carrick nodded. "Eye, an' then drag the sonofabitch into his cabin, shut the door... an' pilfer to our hearts' content," he replied.

"Perfect," Joseph said, setting his pipe down, a small smirk playing at his lips.

* * *

Let me know what you think! Your feedback means the world to me, it really does! ;)


	15. The Jewel Thieves

**A/N: Thanks spikessweetgirl75 for reviewing! ;)**

**NOTE: There IS a scene of sexual foreplay-like behavior, but it isn't an actual sex scene like in chapter 10. Read at your own discretion.**

* * *

_The Jewel Thieves_

Back down in third class, Jack was alone in his cabin with the Irish sweethearts. "So do you have any more plans to spy on your brother?" he asked curiously. He knew that if he had a suspected murderer for a brother, he'd be itching to come up with more ways to crack the case.

Tommy just shrugged. "Yeah, we do, but we're not entirely sure what we're gonna do yet...we're takin' our time 'ta figure this out," he explained calmly. As eager as he was to catch his brother in his criminal ways, he knew that they still had time to come up with more plans to spy, and he didn't want to push his girlfriend into anything yet since she was so overwhelmed already.

Jack nodded his understanding. "Ah, I see," he said.

Tommy pulled out his grandfather's lucky old watch to check the time. "Eye, we've still got a bit before supper, would ye like 'ta go back to the cabin fer a proper thank ye, sweet?" he asked his girlfriend, a wily, lust-filled twinkle in his warm hazel eyes.

Shannon let out an airy giggle. "I suppose if ye like," she teased her boyfriend. She suddenly felt another sensation in the pit of her stomach like the flittering of butterflies. Every time he called her sweet, it made her heart skip a beat.

"Thanks fer the poker game an' the advice on the...ye know, see ya at supper, Jack-o." Tommy grinned at the blonde artist as he escorted his girlfriend out of the cabin.

"No problem, see ya later," Jack replied with a slight snicker, waving as the door shut behind them.

They walked down the hallway towards their own cabin, but stopped when they heard noises underneath the stairwell that led up to F deck near the third class kitchen. Sure enough, it was Fabrizio and Helga kissing.

Tommy winked at his girlfriend. "Let's eavesdrop fer a second," he suggested with a smirk, wanting more material to tease his Italian friend with at supper. Ever since he was a young lad, he'd always had a knack for mischeif, so much so that his father used to call him the Tomfooler.

Shannon rolled her eyes at him. "Thomas Christopher Ryan, yer a strange bastard ye are," she scolded. Being the hopeless romantic she was, she knew that this was a special and private moment for the couple, and had no desire to watch them.

"Oh come on," Tommy pleaded, his mischevious nature getting the better of him.

"Fine." Shannon huffed with an eye roll. She knew that she couldn't say no to his dreamy eyes, no matter how inappropriate she thought his plea was.

"Thank ye, sweet," Tommy replied with a grin as he peered around the corner.

Helga leaned close to her boyfriend as he kissed her softly. "Du kommer til Minnesota med oss?" she asked him, taking a short breath. Her big blue eyes were like those of a sad puppy.

Fabrizio grinned at his girlfriend and gently wrapped his arms around her waist. "I a' don't know...your papa and mama good with that?" he replied with an affectionate nose rub, followed by yet another soft kiss.

"Jeg bryr meg ikke om hva de vil si, jeg elsker deg," Helga mumbled, snuggling against his chest. She'd said that she didn't care about what her parents would say, she loved him.

"Sì, mio dolce, ti amo anch'io. I talk to Jack and see what I can do," Fabrizio promised, kissing her passionately as he slowly lowered his hand from it's position on her waist.

"Greit," Helga giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing herself against him even more.

This was enough for Shannon, and she finally pulled on her boyfriend's suspenders' straps to get him to stop watching them. "All right, we've seen enough, let's go have our own fun now," she said.

Tommy smirked at his girlfriend and picked her up in his arms. "Anything ye want, me sweet princess," he mumbled, kissing her full on the mouth as he carried her towards their cabin.

They left just in time to miss Mr. Olaf Dahl catch his precious only daughter kissing her Italian lover. "HELGA JOHANNE DAHL!" he roared, his eyes flashing from blue to red with fury.

...

Meanwhile in first class, Joseph and Carrick were quickly getting their things together before they headed down to dinner. They had everything they would need to execute their plan; an empty bottle of whiskey (for smacking Cal over the head), gloves (to hide their fingerprints), a lock pick (for cracking open Cal's safe), and two large sacks (to collect their loot).

"Eye, I think our plan is fool-proof, Rick-o." Joseph flashed his partner a wily smirk.

"It is indeed, Joey." Carrick nodded as he puffed on his cigar.

With that, the two young Irishmen left the cabin and started down towards the first class dining room. They weren't exactly looking forward to spending the next few hours socializing when they could be plotting, but they couldn't deny that they were hungry and the food down there was delicious.

...

Tommy kicked open their cabin door and collapsed onto the lower bed with his girlfriend. "Yer me pretty princess...me beautiful, sweet princess, eye Shan..." he mumbled between kisses.

Shannon slowly reached up and grabbed her boyfriend's shirt, pulling him even closer in their lip-lock. "I love ye, me handsome, charming prince..." she whispered, popping open button after button as quickly as her nimble fingers would allow. She slid them off over his shoulders, along with his suspenders' straps, so that he was shirtless.

Tommy cracked a sly grin as he proceeded to push up her dress. "Me pretty girl...me sweet, pretty girl...I love ye more," he slurred, softly rubbing his nose against hers.

Shannon mumbled something inaudible against his lips as she kissed him again, reaching down and teasing him through his pants. "Yer me big, strong Irishman...with yer toned, scruffy-haired bare chest an' rock-hard trouser snake..." She wrapped her arms around his neck and rubbed noses with him again.

"I can tease ye too, princess...so watch it," Tommy scolded, his eyes glazed over with lust as he put his hands up her dress.

"Oh, Tommy, stop it..." Shannon giggled, wrapping her legs around his waist at his touches.

"Ye like that, Shanny?" Tommy teased, pressing his stiff bulge in his pants against her sensitive spots through her knickers.

"Mhmm." Shannon gently pulled his head against her chest and kissed his sweaty, light brown curls. "I love ye, Thomas Christopher Ryan," she purred in his ear.

"Eye?" Tommy smirked. "I love ye more, Shannon Maureen O'Neal," he insisted in a low whisper, kissing her neck.

"Yer my whole life, Tommy," Shannon whispered back, smiling as she snuggled against him in their warm embrace.

"And yer my whole world, Shanny," Tommy told her, gently pressing his lips against hers.

Suddenly, the door creaked open and Mrs. Hannigan walked in. "JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH!" she huffed, stalking over to sit on her bed. "Can't ye two go do that anywhere else?"

Tommy flashed her a roguish smirk. "Well we were in the cargo hold last night..." he said, earning an sharp glare from his girlfriend, whose face was now the shade of a tomato.

Mrs. Hannigan rolled her eyes at him. "And ye aren't even married yet..." she tisked, opening her book to read a few pages before it was time to go to supper.

"Crabby old lady...'ts none a' her business..." Tommy muttered angrily, turning back to his girlfriend.

"Shh, don't mind it... we're as good as married, we're in love so it's all right..." Shannon whispered, gently stroking the side of his face.

"I know, I just wish she'd stop yellin' at us over it," Tommy explained in a low whisper, planting a gentle kiss on her lips.

Neither of them believed in waiting until marriage to do those things. They were in love and didn't consider it sinful so long as they remained faithful to only each other, which they knew that they always would.

Shannon managed a faint smile as she reached up and touched the bloody scrape between his left eye and his nose. "Is it painful, love?" she asked him softly, planting a gentle kiss on it.

Tommy shrugged his shoulders. "Eye, just a wee bit... I can handle it," he told her with a grin. He grabbed his shirt and vest and scrambled to put them back on, pulling his suspenders' straps back up as well. "Shanny, yer so sweet fer askin' though," he added, pecking her softly on the lips.

The Irish sweethearts continued to lay together in their warm embrace for a few more minutes, before it was time to head down for supper in the third class dining saloon and re-join their friends.

...

Joseph and Carrick sat at a table with Mr. Caledon Hockley's crowd again, eagerly awaiting dinner's end so that they could be hours closer to executing their ingenius criminal plan. "I wish we didn't have 'ta sit here an socialize like fools fer the next few hours..." the latter whispered to his partner.

He slowly sipped his champagne. "I just want the food 'ta hurry up an' come out so we could eat it an' move along," he muttered under his breath.

Joseph nodded his agreement. "Eye, I understand completely, Rick-o," he told him. "I want 'ta eat me chicken an' be done with it."

Carrick rolled his eyes at the conversation that was being held in the background. "Ah, Joey... I think God's brought us 'ta hell early," he mumbled.

"Ye can say that again." Joseph rolled his eyes as he helped himself to a caviar cracker.

"Like I actually give a bloody shite about Hockley's damn wedding... I don't even think his fiancé respects him all that much, look how she's playin' with her fork like she could give a damn," Carrick whispered, cracking a sly smirk.

They both glanced across the table to see Rose DeWitt Bukater doing anything but participating in the conversation. She looked bored out of her mind as she stared into her champagne glass.

Even her younger sister was giving her a pitiful look, as if she knew that the same fate awaited her in just a few short years. Their mother Ruth however, was at the very center of the conversation, yucking up every word that came out of her soon-to-be son-in-law's mouth.

Mr. Benjamin Guggenheim raised his glass. "I'll toast to a long and healthy marriage for you, Hockley," he interjected, to which the entire table erupted in claps and cheers.

"Why thank you, Ben," Hockley gushed to his fellow wealthy businessman.

"Cheers, Hockley," Bruce Ismay, the ship's designer, chimed in.

"Thank you, Mister Ismay," Hockley replied with a prideful grin.

Joseph and Carrick looked at each other again. "This is gonna be a long dinner..." the latter muttered under his breath while his partner nodded.

...

In the third class dining saloon, the five friends sat a table in the middle of thr large room, eating a nice warm supper of bread and porridge. The girls had changed back into their regular clothes, as not to be mistaken for first class passengers.

Jack stared dreamily out one of the porthole windows as porridge dripped down his chin. "I wish Rose could come down here with us again," he piped up suddenly.

Fabrizio smirked at him as his porridge splashed onto his shirt. "Eat your soup, no drip it, eh?" he teased his friend.

"Shut it, _ragazzo mio_." Jack flashed his Italian companion a joking glare.

"Yer makin' a mess, Boyo!" Tommy laughed, taking a swig of his beer.

Jack rolled his eyes at them. "Hey, you fellas have your girlfriends right here, mine's above decks with no clue when she can see me again," he defended himself.

Tommy shrugged and buttered a bread roll. "Yer the one that wanted 'ta date a first class girl, Jack-o," he reminded him.

"Thomas Ryan! Ye don't go sayin' that!" Shannon whisper-scolded her boyfriend.

"What I was joking!" Tommy held his arms up defensively.

"It's all right," Jack laughed, blowing on a spoonful of hot porridge.

Fabrizio chuckled at this and took a sip of his foamy beer. "You're all pazzo," he said.

Helga giggled as she sipped her warm tea. "Du er silly," she added.

"So Jack," Fabrizio started, remembering what he wanted to ask his friend about.

"Yes, Fabri?" Jack asked curiously.

"I am a' thinking of going to Minnesota with 'da Dahls," Fabrizio told him, nervously adjusting his blue cap. He was a bit afraid of his friend's reaction, thinking he'd be angry at him for abandoning him.

"Ja, Fabri kommer til Dahlgård med oss," Helga piped up, snuggling close to her Italian lover. She was so excited not to have to leave her boyfriend when the ship docked in New York City.

Jack nearly spit his porridge everywhere. "Really?" he asked. "That's great for you, Fabri!" He wasn't the slightest bit furious, but rather incredibly happy for his friend. It really showed how much he'd matured; from the innocent mama's boy he met in Italy to a street-wise man ready to take on the world.

Fabrizio grinned excitedly, sipping more of his beer. "Grazie, Jack! I a' hope her papa let me come with!" he said. He was still worried about Mr. Dahl's reaction to the news that his least favorite person would be accompanying them to Minnesota.

"So what's your plan if you go with them?" Jack asked his friend curiously.

"I a' live on 'da farm an' maybe start a vineyard an' make an' sell my own wine... I live out both my destinos; to be with bella Helga an' be millionaire in America!" Fabrizio explained happily. "An' of course make lots of bambinos," he added with a sly wink at his girlfriend.

"Oh, ja," Helga agreed with an airy giggle.

"What about you two?" Jack wanted to know, directing his question at the Irish sweethearts.

"Well once we get 'ta Chicago, I'll go down an' get myself a job on the harbor... we'll find a place 'ta settle down an' make some babies, an' then go back 'ta Ireland in a few years," Tommy told him, planting a soft kiss on the side of his girlfriend's face.

"I'm prayin' fer that, love, I really am," Shannon said quietly. She managed a faint smile as she blew on a spoonful of hot porridge.

Tommy put his arm around her. "Don't worry, sweet, it'll happen an' it'll be amazing," he whispered soothingly.

Jack simply nodded along as he listened and absorbed his friends' plans for when the ship docked in America. "I'm just excited to be goin' home, I don't think I'll visit Chippewa Falls any time soon... too painful... but I've always wanted to live in New York City; it seems like the perfect place for a street artist like me. Or I'd live in Santa Monica again... I'll figure it out when I get there I guess," he told them.

He desperately hoped that he could somehow take Rose with him when the ship docked, but he had a helpless feeling in the pit of his stomach that he would end up with a broken heart. She was engaged to another man and lived in a completely different world than him, the chances of their little fling lasting was slim to none in his eyes. It made him sad as he watched his friends with their girlfriends, because he so wanted to be able to make such plans for himself and Rose, but deep down he knew that it was next to impossible.

"Ye look sad, Jack-o, what is it?" Tommy prodded, taking a swig of his beer.

"I just wish I could make plans to settle down and have a life with Rose, but I don't even know if and when I'll see her again before the ship docks," Jack replied sadly, looking down at his hands, dirty from his charcoal drawing pencil.

"No worry, Jack, bella Rosa come back... eh?" Fabrizio reassured his friend, reaching across the table to pat his arm.

"I hope so," Jack answered. "I'm just so worried that she's trapped in this miserable high society life and I so desperately want to help her escape, but at the same time it's so hard, because I know I'm not good enough for her... I've barely ten bucks to my pathetic third class name," he muttered.

"Don't go sayin' that, Jack, the key 'ta love is 'ta never give up," Shannon told him with a soft smile.

"Believe me, I won't... I'll try everything before I let that beautiful ginger-haired goddess slip away between my fingers," Jack replied with a determined nod.

They quickly finished their supper so that they could go join the lively party in the third class general room. The parties were something many of the passengers looked forward to each night because of the fast-paced music, dancing, and of course- beer.

...

Luckily, the hours of the long and drawn out social event known as dinner ticked by quickly enough. The men then retreated to the first class smoking room for their business and politics oriented conversations while they played poker, smoked cigars, and drank plenty of brandy. Joseph and Carrick, however, had other plans.

They snuck up to the cabin of Mr. Caledon Hockley himself, and awaited his return outside the door. "Excuse me, gentlemen, can I help you?" a passing steward asked them, cocking a suspicious eyebrow at their gloved hands.

"Er no..." Joseph started, but stopped speaking when he was elbowed in the gut by his partner.

"Yes, we're friends of Mr. Hockley and he invited us up here to discuss a private business deal. He's still in the middle of a poker game, but he said we could get one of you kind sirs to let us in and he'd be up soon enough," Carrick interjected suddenly, a new plan forming in his mind. A better plan.

Joseph merely grinned and nodded along as the steward apologized and unlocked the door for them. They rushed inside and closed it behind them as the steward walked off down the hall in the opposite direction. Carrick took out his lock pick and motioned for his partner to follow him into Hockley's bedroom.

He pushed open the door and his eyes glazed over with avaraice when he noticed the large green safe. "Jackpot, Joey," he mumbled, practically tripping over his own feet as he ran inside the room.

"You take the safe, that's prob'ly where the necklace is... an' I'll take the mother-in-law's bedroom," Joseph decided, tossing one of the large loot-sacks to his partner before striding into the next room.

"Eye, an' we'll sort an' split our treasures when we get back 'ta me cabin later," Carrick agreed, a gleam of pure malice in his bright green eyes. It took him less than a minute to crack open the safe, and he could feel his mouth watering as he reached for the large black jewelry box.

He slowly opened it up to reveal the _Heart of the Ocean _itself. "Mother of God..." he muttered, gently cupping the precious blue diamond in his hand. It sparkled a brilliant sapphire-like color in the dim lighting of the room and appeared to be every bit as exquisite as it's price suggested.

In the next room, Joseph was pilfering through all of Mrs. DeWitt Bukater's personal belongings. He plopped several pieces of her jewelry into his sack, along with a few gold coins that he saw lying around near the lamp on her nightside table.

One particular piece of loot was almost as exquisite as the Heart of the Ocean itself in his eyes. It was a large diamond encrusted ruby on a silver chain, and a single tear dripped down from his left eye as he thought of how his own mother would probably love to own something like that. His own mother whom he hadn't seen, contacted, or given a damn about for the last five years.

"I'm sorry Mam... I should've sent ye somethin' like this as soon as I could afford it," he muttered, plopping it into his loot sack.

"How's it goin' in there, Joey?" Carrick yelled from the other room.

"It's good! Did ye get the Hoto yet, Rick-o?" he yelled back. They figured talking in abbreviations would be a good code to use on the rare chance that another steward walked in on them.

"Eye, I did, Joey! And let me tell ye, it's beautiful!" Carrick exclaimed in reply, an edge of utter jubilee in his usually stern voice.

Joseph grinned excitedly and rushed back into Hockley's bedroom. "Put it in the sack, gently, an' I'll collect the sonofabitch's money," he told his partner.

Carrick flashed him an evil smirk. "Already on it," he replied.

The two young criminals emptied Hockley's safe, and helped themselves to Mrs. DeWitt Bukater's most expensive pieces of jewelry, before putting everything back exactly as it was.

"So what happens when the sonofabitch realizes he's been robbed, an' that steward mentions we came in here?" Joseph asked, somewhat worriedly.

"That's the second part a' me new plan... we'll still wait fer Hockley 'ta get back an' then hit 'em over the head with the whiskey," Carrick explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yeah, but what about Mrs. DeWitt Bukater and her daughter? The valet Lovejoy? Their maid?" Joseph raised an eyebrow.

"Shut up, I'm thinkin'," Carrick snapped, annoyed that he hadn't thought his plan all the way through. "All right... I think we can bribe the valet, scare and or bribe the maid, and I'm sure Miss Rose can be persuaded...considerin' she all but hates her mother an' Hockley an' we didn't steal anything a' hers... but I'm not sure about Mrs. DeWitt Bukater...perhaps we could somehow scare her too," he mused, scratching his chin.

Joseph glowered at his partner. "Don't ye dare tell me 'ta shut up! Yer overthinkin' it... we'll leave the door unlocked an' go drop off the loot in yer room, then come back an' hide in the sonofabitch's closet. Whoever comes in first will call a steward, an' if someone mentions us, we'll pop outta the closet an' tell the same story we told that one steward, an' they'll believe us 'cause we don't have the loot with us... we'll pretend we got scared an' hid in the closet and didn't see the robber whomever it was. Then we'll hit Hockley over the head with the whiskey anyways once we're alone with 'im, the sonofabitch..." he explained, a crooked smirk across his face.

"Eye, an ingenius plan indeed, Joey!" Carrick praised his partner.

"C'mon, Rick-o, let's go," Joseph said with a wide grin.

They rushed out of the cabin and took the elevator down to C-deck to drop off their stolen treasures in Carrick's cabin, before rushing back up to Mr. Caledon Hockley's cabin to hide in the closet.

...

Down in third class, almost the entirety of the steerage passengers were gathered for another night of lively Irish music and dance. The band was playing a tune called Willie Coleman's Jig as people danced through the crowded room. Fabrizio and Helga held each other in a cozy embrace up on the platforms as they had the night before.

"Ti amo, mio dolce..." the Italian man mumbled to his girlfriend.

"Jeg elsker deg," the Norwegian girl whispered to her boyfriend.

Closer to the middle of the room, Tommy held his girlfriend close to him, and wasn't too shocked to realize that she was crying softly into his shirt again. "I know yer scared, sweet, but everything will be just fine... I swear it," he whispered, planting a soft kiss on her lips.

Shannon nodded with a faint sniffle noise. "C-Can ye tell me what it's going 'ta be like?" she choked out. No matter how hard she tried to remain optimistic, her fears kept coming back.

"Eye, we'll be poor but we'll be happy because we're together and we love each other. I'll work on the harbor, takin' care a' the boats an' earnin' me way, and we can find a place 'ta settle down an' make some babies, and everything will be absolutely perfect. An' before ye can blink those pretty eyes a' yers, we'll be on our way back 'ta Ireland," Tommy told her gently.

"How many babies?" Shannon asked him after a few seconds, snuggling into his shirt. She'd always liked the idea of having lots of children, perhaps six or seven.

"As many as ye want, sweet," Tommy whispered with a sly grin. He was good with children as well, and wanted to make his girlfriend as happy as he possibly could.

"All right, I trust ye," Shannon whispered back. She managed a faint smile and looked into his eyes, planting a gentle kiss on the side of his face.

"I love ye so much, me sweet Shanny Maureen," Tommy flashed her his signature wily smirk, before pulling her into a passionate lip-lock.

"I love ye too, me charming Tommy Christopher," Shannon mumbled between kisses as they skipped through the crowd of dancers.

* * *

Let me know what you think, your feedback means the world to me!


	16. Of Scoundrels and Siblings

**A/N: Thanks spikessweetgirl75 for reviewing ;)**

***Young Tommy's faceclaim is William Moseley as he appeared in the first Narnia movie, and young Shannon is still Saoirse (as she appeared as Susie Salmon in TLB in '09) :)**

* * *

_Of Scoundrels and Siblings_

Joseph and Carrick hid in Hockley's closet, just waiting for the s_onofabitch _to walk in, so that they could execute their plan to get away with the robbery.

After about an hour and a half, they suddenly heard the creaking of the door opening, and then footsteps. Then Hockley's infuriated roaring that shook the entire room. "I HAVE BEEN ROBBED! LOVEJOY, FETCH THE MASTER-AT-ARMS!"

They watched as the valet left the room and counted to ten, before jumping out of the closet. "Hockley!" Joseph wheezed, startling the other man.

Hockley glared at the two Irishmen. "What the hell...?!" His face scrunched up and his dark eyes gleamed with fury. He remembered how they'd acted during the poker game, and immediately suspected them to be the ones who robbed him.

"We didn't see the robber's face," Carrick panted, nudging his partner in the ribcage. "But they were wearin' a dark colored coat...'twas a man I believe... we got scared an' hid in the closet...'twas terrifyin'," he added, pretending to catch his breath.

Joseph nodded and clutched his chest. "Eye, a real madman... he robbed ye good... almost everything is missing," he told him.

"So tell me, gentlemen, what exactly were you doing in here?" Hockley cocked a suspicious eyebrow at them. Even though they claimed not to be the robbers, he still didn't quite trust them and their shifty tendencies.

"We really wanted 'ta apologize fer our behavior after the poker game the other night, we 'didn't wanna do it in front of everyone so we had 'ta lie to one of the stewards an' say ye invited us up here fer a business thing," Carrick explained, doing a perfect job of keeping his cool.

"Eye, I'm a sore loser, ye see... an' I realize now how utterly foolish I made myself look storming out of the room like a wee baby in front a' the likes of you an' Mr. Astor," Joseph added, managing a faint smile.

"Ahh, I see...well, er... apology accepted, gentlemen." Hockley nodded and coughed into his sleeve, slightly embarassed for falsely suspecting them. "Now as you can see, I've much bigger problems to attend to, so if you could be on your way now..." He gestured towards the door.

The two Irishmen grinned at each other and rushed out of the room. Once they were far enough down the hall to be out of sight and earshot, Carrick spoke. "That was close, eh, Joey?"

Joseph grinned at his partner as he let out a sigh of relief. "Indeed it was, Rick-o." He nodded his agreement.

On their way down to C-deck to divide up their loot, they passed Lovejoy walking briskly with the Master-At-Arms hot on his heels, and smirked at each other.

...

Meanwhile in third class, Tommy and Shannon had left the party a little early to spend some time alone together. They danced slowly out on the deck as the cool sea-breeze blew over them. The lively Irish music could be heard faintly from inside the ship.

Shannon rested her head against her boyfriend's strong shoulder. "I remember the second I fell in love with ye," she told him softly.

Tommy planted a gentle kiss on his girlfriend's face. "Eye, an' when was that?" he prodded in a low whisper.

"When ye rescued Jason O'Reilly in the lake," Shannon mumbled into his shirt.

"That was a long time ago now, five whole years," Tommy mused as he rubbed her back in a circular motion.

"Do ye remember when I used 'ta call ye Bastard all the time, because ye were always such a wily bastard?" Shannon giggled softly into the night.

"I do remember that, an' I used 'ta call ye Princess... an' yer still me sweet an' beautiful princess." Tommy grinned as he engaged her in a soft yet passionate kiss.

Shannon looked up and gazed deeply into his warm hazel eyes. "Remember it with me?" she asked him.

Tommy gazed lovingly back into her bright blue eyes. "When I saved the O'Reilly boy from drownin' ye mean?" he wanted to know.

"Eye." Shannon nodded, managing a faint smile as she planted another tender kiss on the bloody scrape between his eye and nose.

"All right," Tommy agreed, a wide smirk spreading across his handsome face. "I was quite the hero, wasn't I?" he teased.

"Ye were, ye were _my_ hero," Shannon gushed, snuggling into his soft shirt.

The Irish sweethearts held each other in a warm embrace as they stepped into a past world full of all their memories from back in Ireland, to experience the flashback together.

_It was a cool day in Dunfanaghy, County Donegal, Ireland in the summer of 1907. The sky was a sort of turquoise color, the bright orangey-yellow sunshine radiated it's warmth down onto the earth, and the birds were chirping happily._

_13-year-old Shannon O'Neal sat underneath her favorite tree, writing in her diary as she watched her two best friends splashing around in the lake. _

_"Come on, Princess!" 16-year-old Tommy Ryan yelled up, nodding for her to join them._

_"No thank ye, I'd rather stay dry up here!" she yelled back with an airy giggle._

_"Don't be such a girl, O'Neal," 15-year-old Ricky MacShane chimed in with a smirk._

_"I am a girl, Patrick!" Shannon reminded him, knowing full well how much he hated when people called him by his actual name. _

_"Afraid 'ta get yer dress wet, Princess?" Tommy teased her, sending a giant wave in her direction. It missed and hit a plant instead._

_"Nice aim, Bastard!" Shannon snapped at him, slamming her diary shut._

_"Eye, I'll get ye next time," Tommy promised, flashing his signature wily smirk at her._

_Suddenly, there was a huge splash followed by a muffled outburst, and all three of them turned to look. "HELP ME! JEEBUS I CAN'T SWIM!" It was their friend, 12-year-old Jason O'Reilly, flailing wildly in the water as he screamed for help._

_Tommy was on it at once. "I'm comin', Jay! Hold on!" he shouted, paddling forward with all his might towards the drowning boy. Upon reaching him, he grabbed him by his shirt collar and tossed him onto dry land, coughing and choking on the fishy-tasting lake water. _

_Watching the action from her spot underneath the tree, Shannon noticed for the first time how god-like Tommy looked with his shirt off. He seemed so mature with the few scruffy hairs that had spouted on his toned chest, and the way his unruly light brown curls clung to his forehead, soaking wet from splashing around in the lake. _

_She quickly opened her diary again: **Jesus, Mary, and Joseph... I've fallen in love with the bastard.**_

Tommy kissed his girlfriend again. "I remember when I fell in love with ye too," he told her.

Shannon smiled at her boyfriend. "I know, I know, the second ye saw me..." she teased him.

"Ye were the prettiest five year old on the shore," Tommy said with a sly grin.

"An' you were the wiliest bastard of an eight year old I'd ever met," Shannon replied with a faint giggle.

"I'm still kickin' meself fer taking thirteen years 'ta kiss you." Tommy's eyes gleamed with lust as he pressed his lips softly against hers again.

"It's all right, you've more than made up fer the wait time." Shannon smiled at him as she softly rubbed her nose against his again.

Just then, they heard a faint scurrying sound, and had the sudden feeling that they were not alone. There was an adolescent-sized shadow behind some deck chairs, and a strange sensation washed over Shannon.

She looked worriedly at her boyfriend. "Why do I feel like someone's been watching us?" she asked him.

Tommy cocked a suspicious eyebrow as he pulled his girlfriend close to him. "Who's there?" he demanded. But no one answered and he let out a tired sigh. "Come on, sweet, let's just go back to the cabin," he said.

Shannon gave a defeated nod and allowed him to escort her back inside the ship. "I swear someone was watching us," she muttered.

Once they were out of sight and earshot, someone emerged from behind the chairs and let out a sigh of relief. It was 12-year-old Rory O'Neal, who had snuck onto the ship to follow his elder sister to America.

...

Up in first class, after arguing for about thirty minutes straight, Joseph and Carrick were just about finished dividing their loot. Joseph had taken most of the jewels, and Carrick most of the coins and bills, and they'd agreed to split whatever profit the made off the "Hoto".

Joseph glowered at his partner. "I told ye, I'm givin' this one 'ta me mam!" he yelled, snatching the diamond encrusted ruby necklace out of Carrick's hand.

Carrick huffed angrily. "Fine, take it, ye wee baby. Send it 'ta yer mammy who ye've been too pride ridden 'ta even send a letter to fer five whole years," he teased his partner, throwing a handful of gold coins at Joseph.

"Screw yerself, bastard," Joseph hissed, scrambling to his feet with his share of the loot. "I'm off 'ta bed." With that, he stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind him, and went down the hall to his own cabin.

"Feckin' crybaby," Carrick muttered to himself once his partner had left. He too, stood up, and stormed into his own bedroom to put his pajamas on.

...

Tommy held his girlfriend close to him as he lie awake in bed. Suddenly, he could hear her softly weeping for about the tenth time during the course of only four days. "Shh, don't cry me sweet princess... it's gonna be all right soon," he whispered soothingly as he stroked her hair.

Shannon snuggled into her boyfriend's side and cried harder. "I-I miss Ireland so m-much, T-Tommy..." she choked out.

"Was it because of our little flashback to the lake?" Tommy prodded gently, trying not to upset her even more than she already was.

"Y-Yes... when will we see Ricky again? And Jason? And Fiona? And Bradán?..." Shannon trailed off as shuddering sobs overtook her, the faces of all of their friends flashing into her mind and overwhelming her with homesickness and nostalgia.

"Shh...soon, very soon...I promise ye," Tommy told her in a low whisper, as not to wake up their roommates. "Now just sleep me sweet princess, I love ye..." He planted a soft kiss on the top of her head as he continued to stroke her hair.

"I love ye too...so much..." Shannon sobbed quietly. "It's so hard t-ta fall as-asleep..."

Tommy planted more soft kisses on the side of her face and wrapped his arms tighter around her. "Just try, sweet, I'm right here, sweet... think about how happy our friends will be fer us when they come 'ta visit us in Chicago... and then sooner than ye can even imagine, we'll be on a boat back 'ta Ireland an' we'll stay there an' never have 'ta leave again..." he whispered.

Shannon merely nodded and let out a few quiet sniffles. Ever so slowly, the Irish sweethearts fell asleep, wrapped up in their cozy embrace. All of their worries faded away, not to be dealt with again until the next day.

...

Rory stood outside of his sister's cabin door and leaned against the cool white wooden frame. He'd done this every night since they'd boarded the ship to feel close to her. He wanted so badly to open it up and make her aware of his presence, yet he knew that she'd be infuriated at him for following her.

She'd yell at him for sneaking onto the ship without buying a ticket, and for leaving their parents and sister to worry about him, and God only knew what else... but there was still a part of him that didn't care how much trouble he'd get into... a part of him that wanted her to catch him just so he could give her a hug and relieve his own homesickness.

"Maybe I shouldn't a' left... but I so desperately wanna see the promise land fer meself... an' I wanna stay with me big sister, I swear I'll find her tomorrow," he promised himself quietly.

"Every time I see her she's cryin' 'cause she's homesick... maybe if she saw me, she'd be so happy that she wouldn't even yell at me..." he mused, scratching his chin.

He glanced longingly at the cabin door one more time, before heading up to the general room to sleep underneath one of the benches. "Maybe once I find me sister, they'll let me sleep in their cabin with 'em..."

He didn't particularly enjoy having to find a different place to sleep every night, because it was usually somewhere cold and dark. It was worse than his ripped and stained old mattress back in Ireland.

* * *

Please review, your feedback means the world to me (really it does!).

Mwaahha I added another brother to the mix! Rory's faceclaim is Charlie Stewart as he appeared in early seasons of the Suite Life of Zack and Cody.


	17. Dreams In The Night

**A/N: Thanks spikessweetgirl75 and ZabuzasGirl for your feedback!**

**NOTE: I've deleted my one-shot I Can't Let Go Of You because I'm tweaking it and adding to it, and inserting it into this chapter ;)**

* * *

_Dreams In The Night_

Shannon tossed and turned in the tiny bed, nearly ending up on the floor at one point. She opened her eyes and let out an exhausted sigh, scooting over and snuggling against her boyfriend's strong chest like she'd done before. She smiled as she buried her face against his soft shirt, which smelled of their home-town, and finally drifted off into a deep slumber.

As she was drifting off, she remembered the two times they almost kissed, and the one time they finally did.

* * *

_Whiskey and Hugh: The cat and the bully_

_16-year-old Shannon O'Neal ran down to the shore, scorching hot tears pouring out of her eyes and her light pink dress billowing in the wind behind her. Her beloved cat, Whiskey, was missing and her father had searched all night but had not been able to find him. _

_She collapsed onto a patch of soft grass and buried her face in her skirt. She could taste her own salty tears as she brushed her long strawberry blonde hair out of her eyes and mouth._

_Suddenly, there were footsteps. "What's the matter, Princess? Did the evil dragon destroy yer village?" 19-year-old Tommy Ryan rushed over to sit beside her, a wide smirk across his handsome face._

_"Sod off, Bastard! Whiskey is GONE!" Shannon sobbed furiously, not in the mood for his teasing._

_"Yer cat?" Tommy prodded, his voice softening a bit._

_"Is there another, ye eejit?" Shannon snapped at him._

_"No...I'm sorry," Tommy apologized. "I-I'll help ye look fer him if ye like," he added quickly._

_"It's useless," Shannon wept. "Me da looked everywhere an' couldn't find him, he was out all night," she explained, sniffling._

_"I'll buy ye another cat," Tommy offered, awkwardly putting his arm around her._

_"I don't want another cat," Shannon sniffled, resting her head on his shoulder. _

_Just then, there was another set of footsteps, and they both turned to look and see who it was. Standing near the old rusty fence with a wide smirk across his face, was 17-year-old Hugh Doheny, the local bully._

_He snickered as he sauntered towards them. "Aww, looks like the Wise River isn't gonna have enough water left if she keeps cryin' over every little thing, eh, Ryan?" He crossed his arms as he spoke, a glint of malice in his dark eyes._

_Tommy glared at him. "What the feck do ye want, Doheny?" He clenched his fists. _

_Hugh shrugged coolly. "What's the matter O'Neal, lose yer kitty cat?" he taunted, continuing towards them._

_"SOD OFF, DOHENY!" Shannon screamed, her teary eyes seeming to flash from blue to red with fury._

_"Wait a minute," Tommy interjected, scrambling to his feet. "How the hell did ye know she lost her cat?" he demanded, grabbing Hugh's shirt and throwing him to the ground._

_"'Cause I'm the one who bloody stole it, keep up, ye eejit!" Hugh flashed him a malicious smirk as he brushed himself off._

_"HOW DARE YE, FECKIN' TWAT!" Tommy roared, absolutely infuriated. He began slamming the bully into the ground over and over again, until he had him practically begging for mercy._

_"STOP IT!" Shannon sobbed, running over to hold her best friend back so he couldn't continue to fight with the miserable bully. "He's not worth it, Tom," she whispered softly, rubbing his back. She hated seeing him get so violent, it bothered her in a way she couldn't really describe. _

_"No, Shan, I'm getting yer cat back fer ye!" Tommy argued, punching Hugh square in the gut._

_"THE DAMN CAT IS IN MR. MCNAMARA'S SHED, JAYSUS GET OFFA ME!" the bully yelled, pushing against Tommy with all his might and scrambling to his feet._

_"Good, now get the feck outta me sight," Tommy hissed, grabbing his shirt collar again and then releasing him roughly._

_Hugh brushed himself off and made a sour face at him, slowly retreating back the way he came. "I'll get ye next time," he mumbled under his breath._

_"He's just a talker, he can't even fight," Tommy grumbled, turning back to face Shannon. "See, Shan? Whiskey is just fine, I'm sure Mr. McNamara will be happy 'ta let ye in the shed 'ta get him," he said, managing a faint smile for her sake._

_"Thank you, Tom." Shannon let out an airy giggle. She could feel the sensation of a thousand butterflies flittering around in the pit of her stomach as she gazed into his warm hazel eyes. She found him so charming and handsome, and so sweet for getting into a fight just to get her cat back for her. She knew she couldn't tell him how she felt, though, out of fear that it would ruin their friendship._

_"It was my pleasure." Tommy bowed his head with a silly grin._

_Shannon giggled again and stepped closer to him. "Yer my bastard," she told him, planting a soft kiss on the side of his face._

_Tommy grinned and pulled her close to him. So close that their noses were almost touching. "And yer my princess," he replied, staring longingly at her soft lips._

_Suddenly, more rushing footsteps approached, and they turned around again. This time it was their friend, 18-year-old Ricky MacShane. He gave them a funny look, and then threw his spare fishing pole at Tommy. _

_"C'mon, Tom! Let's go catch the salmon of knowledge!" he joked._

_"Be right there, Rick!" Tommy yelled, turning around._

_"You go, I have 'ta get Whiskey from Mr. McNamara," Shannon told him softly. She managed a faint smile before skipping off in the opposite direction, her dress billowing in the wind again._

* * *

_Willie Coleman's Jig: A slow dance_

_Lively Irish music filled the air in Dunfanaghy village, as several teenagers danced through the streets at Ricky MacShane's twentieth birthday party._

_17-year-old Shannon O'Neal and 20-year-old Tommy Ryan held each other in a warm embrace during a slower jig called Willie Coleman's. They were the best of friends, and each secretly in love with the other, but were both too afraid to admit their feelings because they didn't want to ruin their friendship._

_"Yer a good dancer, Tommy," Shannon mumbled into his soft shirt._

_"So are you, Shanny," Tommy told her in a low whisper, gently rubbing her back in a circular motion._

_Shannon gazed deeply into his warm hazel eyes. "You confuse the hell outta me, Tommy Ryan, ye can be such a bastard sometimes...yet others ye make me heart melt," she whispered, snuggling against him._

_Tommy grinned as he stared just as deeply back into her bright blue eyes. "Ye never confuse me, Shannon O'Neal...ye've always been me princess," he replied softly, stroking her hair._

_"Yer sweet," Shannon giggled._

_"An' yer too pretty fer words," Tommy told her, his eyes held a lust-filled twinkle as he stared longingly at her soft lips._

_Their faces were so close at this point, that their noses were nearly touching. They both closed their eyes and slowly leaned in even closer, but just as they were about to kiss, Shannon looked down at her feet._

_She wanted to feel his lips pressed against hers so badly, yet she knew it would be risking their friendship. Tommy looked a bit put out, but he didn't say anything. They continued to dance slowly._

* * *

_Unable To Let Go: The sweetest first kiss_

_18-year old Shannon O'Neal stood in the kitchen of her family's small, run-down cottage, peeling potatoes with her mother and 15-year-old sister. "Shan, wash this knife," her mother, 38-year-old Eileen Fitzpatrick-O'Neal said, sliding one of the knives across the counter._

_Shannon merely nodded and picked up the sharp knife that was covered with potato goo. "Yes, Mam," she replied, taking it over to their tiny sink and running it under the cool water. _

_Suddenly, the door creaked open, and her father walked in with her 12-year-old brother. They'd been down by the shore all day, fishing. "Shan, I didn't know Tommy Ryan was leaving fer America 'ta find work, I ran into his father and his uncle fishin'!" 41-year-old Bobby O'Neal commented to his elder daughter._

_"What?" Shannon looked up at her father with wide eyes._

_"When did Tommy decide 'ta leave fer America?" Her father repeated his question, looking a bit confused._

_"Tommy's leaving fer America?" Shannon asked, feeling as if her heart were about to split into two pieces. Suddenly, it became increasingly difficult to breathe._

_"That's what we wanna know!" Her brother, Rory, interjected, an annoyed edge in his squeaky pubescent voice._

_"Shut up, she's clearly upset!" Her sister, Rhiannon, hissed, elbowing their brother hard in the ribcage._

_"THAT SELFISH BASTARD!" Shannon screamed, dropping the knife and running out the door, wiping the potato goo off of her hands onto her tattered and dirty apron as she went. _

_She ran all the way through the village streets, scorching hot tears pouring down her face. Her long strawberry blonde hair and frayed tan colored dress billowed in the wind behind her._

_She didn't care that half the village was out and about, staring at her, judging her... all she cared about was the fact that the man she was in love with, the man she had dreamed of marrying and having babies with, was going to leave her without a care in the world._

_She ran down to the shore, collapsing onto a large rock and looking out onto the Northern Atlantic ocean. She wept softly into her tattered and dirty apron that smelled of potatoes, and then proceeded to chuck a few pebbles into the water, watching as the cool water splashed up at the impact._

_She couldn't believe that her best friend, whom she had been so sure loved her back, was okay with just up and leaving his entire life behind for the sake of finding a job. __Sure, she knew why he felt like he had to leave, but she was angry at him for not even considering her feelings._

_Suddenly, she could hear footsteps crunching along the path that lead to the rocky shore where she sat. "So this is where you've been hiding," a man's voice remarked, and she spun around to see the very source of her bitter feelings._

_"Leave me alone, Tommy, ye selfish bloody bastard," she spat, chucking another pebble in the water._

_"Surely you don't mean that, me sweet princess," he tisked, walking closer to the rocks._

_An average lad of twenty-one, Tommy Ryan was tall and strong with curly light brown hair and warm hazel eyes. He was admired by many of the girls in their village, but he held a special place in his heart for Shannon. He hated seeing her so upset, but he knew that staying in Ireland wasn't an option for him._

_"I mean that, now go away," Shannon repeated._

_"Please understand," Tommy pleaded._

_"There is nothing to understand," Shannon insisted, taking off her left shoe and chucking it in the water. The pebbles weren't satisfying her anymore, she wanted to see a bigger splash._

_"Can't you just look at me?" Tommy begged her. "Come on, don't be throwin' your things, just listen to me," he said, sitting down on the rock beside her._

_"How can I look at you, knowing that you're just going to leave me here?" Shannon asked irritably as she tossed her right shoe into the water as well._

_"Shan, we both know that I don't want to leave, but I have to. My family needs money, and bad. I know I can find a good job in America, that's why they call it the promise land... there's many more opportunities there, and then I can send the money to my family. Come on, you know it's true, three-quarters of our village lives in starvation...besides, I'll only be gone fer a few years, ye can wait fer me," Tommy explained, reaching out and gently stroking her face._

_"Tom, I know all of that. It's just... you didn't even consider my feelings," Shannon said, finally looking at him._

_"I'm sorry, I didn't know how to tell you," Tommy sighed and looked down at his feet in shame. "Don't you want me to do the right thing, though?" he asked her, looking back up again._

_"Yes, I do, it's just that..." Shannon paused as more tears brimmed in her eyes. She couldn't admit her feelings to him without choking up._

_"It's just that what? Say it," Tommy prodded. He wore a mixed expression of curiosity and concern._

_"I'm going to miss you so much because..." Shannon stopped to swallow and wipe her eyes. "Because I'm...I'm..." she sniffled as she tried not to start sobbing._

_Tommy scooted closer and put a comforting arm around her. "What is it that's got you all worked up?" he asked her gently. "You can tell me anything, ye know that," he pushed._

_Shannon squeezed her eyes shut and wrung her hands together. "Because I'm in love with you, ye feckin' eejit!" she snapped at him, immediately bursting into tears. She buried her face in his chest and sobbed._

_"Shh, it's alright," Tommy whispered softly as he rubbed her back. He was relieved that she'd admitted her feelings first, because he'd also feared screwing up their friendship, but now it was out in the open. "I love ye too, so much," he told her. _

_"You can't leave me here," Shannon choked out with a shuddering sob._

_"Hey now, look at me," Tommy said, gently tilting her chin upwards until her eyes were level with his own._

_"I can't, it's destroying me," Shannon replied through clenched teeth. Her usually bright and cheery blue eyes were completely blood-shot, and her pale face was beet red and tear-stained._

_"I love you too, and I wish I didn't have to leave you here but I do," Tommy told her, gently running his fingers through her long, strawberry blonde hair. _

_Shannon looked up at him. "Don't you understand?" she snapped, exhasperated. She wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her dress._

_Tommy shook his head. "Understand what?" he asked, confused._

_"Good Lord, you're an eejit!" Shannon exclaimed. "Take me with you," she said, as if it were the most obvious solution in the world._

_"But Shan, you have a family and a life here. I can't just take you away from everything you know and love," Tommy told her, shaking his head with a sad expression across his face._

_"Oh but Tom, what if I told you that you are my life? Living here in Donegal without you would still feel as if my entire world had been turned upside down," Shannon explained, reaching up and pulling his face into her chest. "I can't let go of you..." she sniffled._

_"Your father would never let me take you so far away," Tommy insisted._

_"I'm eighteen years old, I can do as I please," Shannon reminded him._

_"Damn it, you aren't gonna back down, are you?" Tommy couldn't help but laugh. He knew that when she had her heart set on something, she wouldn't stop until she got it. Her fiery personality was one of the many things that he so loved about her._

_"Not a chance," Shannon replied with a mischevious smile._

_Tommy grinned and picked her up in his arms. "Is that so, Miss O'Neal?" he asked her._

_Shannon smiled and took off his bowler hat. "It is, Mr. Ryan," she replied. She proceeded to throw his hat in the water._

_"Oh hey now, was that really necessary?" Tommy tisked at her._

_"I think it was," Shannon giggled in his face._

_"Well you know what I have to do now then, don't you?" Tommy asked with a sly grin._

_"Buy a new hat?" Shannon laughed._

_"Nope! This!" Tommy yelled, charging down the shore towards the ocean with her in his arms._

_"Thomas Christopher Ryan you put me down RIGHT NOW!" Shannon squeaked, laughing hysterically as he jumped into the water with her. Together, they made the biggest splash of all._

_Tommy grabbed his soaking wet hat and put it back on his head. "Look, found my hat," he chuckled._

_Shannon hopped onto his back as he swam farther out. "Ah, and your left shoe," he added, picking up a sopping wet leather boot._

_"What about the right one?" Shannon asked with an amused giggle._

_"Can't find it, guess you'll have to hop," Tommy replied with a mischevious grin._

_"You liar, I see it behind your back!" Shannon exclaimed, pointing._

_"Guilty as charged," Tommy shrugged. They continued to splash around until the sky began to darken. Tommy carried her back to shore, where they laid down next to each other in the sand. "What is your dream?" he asked, looking into her mesmerizing blue eyes._

_"To be eternally yours," she replied, looking back into his charming hazel eyes. Her expression was one of complete seriousness._

_"Oh yeah?" Tommy asked, climbing on top of her. "And what does that mean?"_

_Shannon giggled as she softly stroked his handsome face. "It means that there is no other man that I could ever love as much as I love you, I want 'ta be with ye forever, to make lots a' babies with ye... 'ta live happily ever after with ye..." she mumbled, gently rubbing her nose against his._

_Tommy grinned as he pressed his lips softly against hers. "This is somethin' I should've done a long time ago but never had the guts, an' if that's what that means...I want 'ta be eternally yours, too," he told her in a low whisper._

_"Oh me wily bastard, I can't let go of you," Shannon repeated, stroking his face._

_"And I can't get enough of you, me sweet princess," Tommy said, leaning down and kissing her full on the mouth again._

* * *

Shannon smiled softly in her sleep. Even though she was so afraid of the what ifs about her boyfriend getting them to Chicago and finding work with a stable salary, she realized that she didn't care how difficult or not things may end up being... she was with the man that she loved, and together they could take on the world.

* * *

Please let me know what you think, your feedback means the world to me!

NOTE: If anyone was curious, Bobby's faceclaim is David Thewlis, Eileen's is Paula Malcomson, Rhiannon's is Sierra McCormick, and you already know Rory's is a younger Charlie Stewart. XD


	18. Of Plans and Proposals

**A/N: I hope you enjoy this little mini chapter!**

* * *

_Of Plans and Proposals_

_Sunday, April 14th, 1912._

"Tommy, wake up," Shannon whispered softly, kissing her boyfriend's face.

"What's the matter, Shanny?" Tommy asked groggily, opening his eyes and pulling his girlfriend close.

"I realized something...and I'm not so scared about going 'ta America anymore," Shannon told him, sitting up in bed.

"Eye, what did ye realize?" Tommy prodded her, leaning back against the wall.

"I realized that I don't really care if we're poorer than we were back in Ireland, or if we can't find a way 'ta get 'ta Chicago...all I care about is being with you, and I trust ye 'ta make everything all right fer us," Shannon explained, snuggling into his soft shirt.

"That's what I've been tryin' 'ta tell ye, Shan...you an' I are invincible together, once we step off this ship, the world will be in the palms of our hands...America is the promise land," Tommy replied in a low whisper, planting soft kisses on her face. "Don't ye worry yer wee pretty head about it, Princess, everything is gonna be perfect," he added.

Shannon let out a soft giggle. "I love you, Mr. Ryan," she said.

Tommy flashed a wily smirk. "I love you more, Miss O'Neal," he insisted.

Shannon scooted over to sit on his lap. "How many babies can we have?" she asked him quietly, planting a soft kiss on his lips.

Tommy grinned at her. "As many as ye want, I told ye," he replied softly, engaging her in a passionate lip-lock.

"Six?" Shannon asked, softly batting her eyelashes against the bridge of his nose.

"Sounds like a plan 'ta me," Tommy agreed, gently rubbing his nose against hers.

"Where will we live in Chicago? Or New York if we can't afford 'ta get to the other?" Shannon wanted to know, resting her head against his chest.

"We'll find a wee little flat, it'll be dingy an' small but we'll make it cozy," Tommy explained, running his fingers through her hair.

"What will ye do if ye can't get a job on the harbor?" Shannon inquired with a faint smile.

"I'll figure something out, some a' those factory jobs pay good too...but I'd rather work on the harbor, the factory jobs hours' are too long...an' I want 'ta be home with me sweet princess," Tommy replied with a sly grin.

"All right, I'm not so worried anymore...I know me charming bastard will take care of everything," Shannon giggled, pecking him softly on the lips again.

"Eye, 'cause there's absolutely nothin' 'ta worry about," Tommy replied, gently rubbing noses with her again.

Shannon smiled at him. "What time is it anyways?"

Tommy leaned over the side of the bed and reached for his grandfather's old watch to check the time. "It's six in the morning."

Shannon nodded. "I don't want 'ta go back to sleep, I'm not really very tired," she said.

Tommy grinned. "Neither am I, let's just stay up an' talk fer a while before we have 'ta go down to breakfast," he agreed. Suddenly, he remembered something he'd been wanting to ask her, and figured it was probably the best time to ask it considering they were talking about their plans.

"All right, so what should we talk about?" Shannon asked him curiously.

"Actually, there's something I've been itchin' 'ta ask ye," Tommy told her in a low whisper.

"What?" Shannon cocked her eyebrow at him.

"Hold on." Tommy leaned over the side of the bed again and reached into the pocket of his trousers that lay on the floor, taking out his grandmother's old claddagh ring that she'd given to him before he left on the Titanic.

Shannon looked confused. "What are ye...?"

Tommy crawled out of bed and knelt down beside the mattress on the floor. "I've been in love with ye since I was eight years old, ye've always been me sweet, pretty princess," he started, gazing into her eyes. "An' it would make me feel like the luckiest son of a bastard in the whole wide world if you, Shannon Maureen O'Neal, would marry me," he told her, slowly opening his hand to reveal the ring.

"Oh, Tommy..." Shannon's eyes welled up with tears as she clasped her hands over her mouth. "Yes, yes, of course I will..." she told him, nearly throwing herself on top of him and planting soft kisses all over his face.

"Eye, Shanny...how I hoped ye'd say that." Tommy laughed as he slid the ring onto her finger and engaged her in another soft yet passionate kiss.

...

Joseph woke up abruptly after having another dream about his old friend O'Roarke, and realized that he'd ended up on the floor. "I'm so feckin' done with the guilt...the lies...it's destroying me. I know I am a damned and despicable soul in yer eyes God, but please...give me the courage 'ta break away from Carrick once and fer all...he's corrupting me...causing me 'ta damn myself even more each day..." he muttered, scrambling to his feet.

He went into the bathroom and splashed cool water on his face again. "His very presence influences me 'ta become an entirely different person...and I can't do this anymore. I've made me decision," he told himself in the mirror. "I'm gonna find a way 'ta escape that desipicable man called Carrick Mooney... I'm gonna get me balls back," he said with a determined glare.

...

Rory smiled happily to himself in his sleep as he dreamed about what it would be like once the ship docked in America. He'd get to see the promise land with his own two eyes. He'd get to live with his elder sister whom he loved so well. He could find himself a job to help bring in some extra cash. The possibilities were endless, and that was what excited him the most.

"I'm gonna find Shan an' Tommy tomorrow for sure," he mumbled sleepily, rolling onto his side underneath the bench.

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	19. Escaping His Evil Ways

**A/N: Thanks spikessweetgirl75 for reviewing! ;)**

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_Escaping His Evil Ways_

It was now around half past nine o'clock in the morning. Joseph and Carrick were eating a quiet breakfast of omelettes and toast with fresh brewed coffee up in the first class dining room. They weren't really speaking to each other.

Carrick bit into a piece of toast. "Eye, look over there...Hockley looks so lost without his precious, expensive necklace," he observed with a faint snicker.

Joseph nodded as he took a swig of coffee. "Great," he muttered with an eye roll.

"Something the matter?" Carrick prodded, cocking a skeptical eyebrow at his partner.

"Of course not," Joseph replied, avoiding eye contact as he ate a forkful of omelette.

"So I heard they're gonna do church in here soon, you going?" Carrick asked curiously. "I'm not... I think religion is a load of malarkey," he said.

"Er...no...I'm not going either," Joseph replied uneasily.

In all truth he would have loved to go and apologize to his God for his countless sins, but he knew that he could not go without raising suspicion against himself in the eyes of his partner. If Carrick knew that he wanted nothing more than to atone for his dirty deeds, he'd surely try and off him too, just like they'd done to O'Roarke.

He used to secretly envy his partner for doing such a flawless job with all of his crimes and not feeling any guilt afterwards, but now he despised him for being such a truly despicable person, and despised himself for ever wanting to be like him.

"Good...we'll go back to my cabin then," Carrick said. "We can discuss more plans for when the ship docks in New York City," he decided, sipping his coffee.

"Fine then," Joseph agreed absent-mindedly, finishing off his third piece of toast and helping himself to another omelette.

"Hungry, I see," Carrick snickered, watching how much his partner seemed to be eating.

"Eye, got a problem with it?" Joseph snapped, glaring at his ginger-haired partner across the table.

The reason he was eating so much was because of his incredible nervousness about breaking ties with Carrick. He'd have to really strategize and plan a spotless escape, or else he'd be paying with his own head.

He shoved another forkful of omelette in his mouth and washed it down with a large swig of his coffee. Then, he started to raid the small bowls of fruit in the center of the table. Eating had always been something that calmed him down.

"Er...no...not really..." Carrick looked a bit suspicious but didn't say anything else on the subject.

"Good, so shut up about it." Joseph shot him another glare and kept eating.

...

Rory watched his elder sister affectionately rubbing her boyfriend's shoulders at their breakfast table. He swore he spotted something shiny on her ring finger, and wondered if Tommy had finally popped the big question. They appeared to be accompanied by three other people, a blonde man with a sketchpad in his lap, and a dark-haired man who was rubbing noses with his blonde sweetheart.

_I should just go over there... what's the worst that could happen? _He mused, glancing longingly across the room. He knew that his sister would be furious with him for sneaking onto the ship to follow her, but at the same time, perhaps she'd also be overjoyed at his presence.

He reflected on why he'd even boarded the ship in the first place; _to see the promise land with me own two eyes, to stay with me favorite sister, to perhaps find a job and help pay the bills so Tommy doesn't have to do it all by himself...to escape the utter poverty of me village...to show me family that I can act like a responsible adult...and so many other reasons._

Letting out a soft sigh, he started to shuffle across the room towards their table. Just as he was about to tap his sister on the shoulder, however, someone grabbed his arm. "Ror, we found a rat!" 13-year-old Sean O'Reilly, a boy with brown hair that he'd befriended, yelled excitedly.

"Really? Where?" Rory's bright blue eyes lit up.

"Under the stairs in the cargo hold...we weren't supposed to be there but Patrick Hennessey, that five year old who always follows us around, snuck down there and found a bunch of 'em!" Sean told him with a roguish grin.

"That's grand!" Rory exclaimed, running after the brown-haired boy. _I'll find me sister later...I've got to see these rats!_

_..._

Joseph lit his pipe and leaned against the far wall. "So what did ye have in mind?" he asked.

Carrick smirked as he plopped himself down on the sofa. "There's this wealthy tradesman, Elias La Rue, who lives in Manhattan...I was thinkin' we could arrange a meeting with him," he replied coolly.

"All right... why have I never heard of this man?" Joseph cocked a skeptical eyebrow.

"Because, ye eejit...he's a black market tradesman, like us." Carrick rolled his eyes.

"So why would we screw 'im over if he's in our same circle?" Joseph was confused.

"No, ye eejit, we're gonna form an alliance with 'im, not screw 'im over...he's got about thirty years on us experience-wise...we could use his advice," Carrick clarified.

"Oh." Joseph merely nodded as he finished off his pipe and re-lit it.

"Eye." Carrick rolled his eyes at him again.

"What other ideas did ye have in mind, Rick-o?" Joseph prodded curiously. He really had no interest in pursuing any more of his partner's criminal plans, but he knew that he had to feign interest so he wouldn't seem suspicious.

"Like I told ye before, Joey, I say we find a place 'ta live and run our trade scam business out of it too...why waste money on two rents?" Carrick grinned, pouring himself a glass of wine.

"Eye, but do ye have any more plans fer screwin' over all the wealthy bastards of the world?" Joseph wanted to know.

"Not yet... but I'm sure La Rue can help us come up with some," Carrick told him with a sly grin.

"All right." Joseph nodded again. "Well if we're done here, I think I'll go back 'ta me cabin fer a bit..."

Carrick gulped down his wine and waved towards the door. "See ye later," he said.

Joseph managed a faint smile and snuffed out his pipe as he left the room. "See ye," he replied. He rushed down the hall and into his own room, slamming the door behind him and leaning against the hard wooden frame.

_I've got 'ta get away from that madman... _He ran over and grabbed his diary, scrambling to open it to a fresh page, and began to scribble down his thoughts as rapidly as they came to him.

_I can't do this anymore. I want to be good...I want to be a good man, a loyal man, a man who works hard for what he has not one who cheats and lies! __I've realized now the extreme error of my ways. __I don't want to go to Hell if I can avoid it...please, God, help me get away from that crazy bastard Carrick Mooney, and pardon my despicable soul!_

_I absolutely can't believe that I'm about to say this...but I envy my brother. He's got the world in his hands or so it seems...he's poor but he's happy, he's in love and he'll get a job and get married and have children...and I'll just be the lone wolf uncle Joey...the lone wolf uncle Joey that no one wants anything to do with._

_I need to break this sick chain of lies and crimes...I need to find a way to be a good man! It's going to be hard, because there was always a part of me that let ambition take over...and I wonder if I've ever been a good man...or if my soul was destined to be damned?_

He was now breathing heavily as he slammed the small leather bound book shut. "I've got to escape my evil ways..." he muttered to himself. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. _Maybe I'm mad...but I've got to do this..._

He scrambled to his feet and rushed out of his cabin, back down the hall to his partner's cabin. He knocked, but there was no answer, so he just went in. Luckily, his partner seemed to be in the bathroom, so he slowly crept into the bedroom and stole the Heart of the Ocean necklace.

_No one should have such a precious, expensive gem...not even that sonofabitch Caledon Hockley...wealth corrupts the mind, corrupts the soul...this gem is better off somewhere far away from the hands of greedy men with their cold, dark eyes full of avarice..._

Realizing the one true way to break his streak of evil deeds for good, he rushed back to his own room, and tossed the necklace out of his porthole window. "I'm free, Carrick ye bastard, I'm bloody feckin' free!" he yelled so only he could hear, and then let his insane laughter echo through the room, bouncing off the walls.

He'd done the unthinkable, the unspeakable, he'd tossed the Heart of the Ocean out the window. _It's called the Heart of the Ocean...so I simply put it back where it belongs...away from all corruption, to the purity of the sea._

_..._

The Irish sweethearts held each other in a cozy embrace as they sat together in the general room. "It's so shiny," Shannon commented, snuggling into her boyfriend as she admired her ring.

Tommy grinned and planted soft kisses on the side of his girlfriend's face. "I'm glad ye like it, sweet," he said.

Shannon smiled happily. "Of course I do, I like everything ye give me," she replied.

"Yer just too sweet fer words, Shanny," Tommy told her with a wily twinkle in his eyes.

"And yer too charming fer words, Tommy," Shannon told him with a soft giggle.

"I love ye." Tommy gently rubbed his nose against hers.

"I love ye too." Shannon kissed him softly on the lips.

"Ye make me happy," Tommy said as he pulled her even closer.

"Ye make me happier," Shannon replied as she slowly reached into his lap.

Tommy flashed her a sly smirk. "Right here?" he asked with an amused laugh.

Shannon smiled seductively. "Do ye want it or not?" she teased him.

"Oh no, definitely keep goin'." Tommy grinned as he kissed her softly again.

Suddenly, they heard rushed footsteps approaching them, and looked up. It was Jack, looking rather red in the face, as if he'd been running. "Tommy, I need you and Fabri to help me sneak into first class," he stated abruptly.

Tommy looked a bit put out. "Right now?" he asked, nodding towards his fiancé.

Jack snickered at the obvious bulge in his trousers. "I'm sorry, Mr. Engaged Man, but I really need your help," he told him.

"Fine." Tommy scowled, discreetly adjusting himself as he stood up. "I'll be right back, sweet," he said, softly kissing his fiancé.

"I'll wait fer ye right here." Shannon let out an airy giggle.

On their way over to find Fabrizio, Jack explained his plan. "So I just need you fellas to lift me up so I can climb over the rail, it's simple, really," he said.

Tommy scratched his left ear. "Fine, but why are ye sneakin' up there again?" he wanted to know.

"I just feel like I'm too involved now...I can't let her suffer in that miserable first class world, I went up there before but her fiancé's valet, this Lovejoy fella, had me escorted out by these two snobby stewards," Jack told him. "I just wanna speak to her for a minute and tell her why I'm so worried about her, but it's ultimately her choice if she listens to me or not," he added.

"She's in another world, Jack-o...I say just forget it," Tommy protested. "It's illogical 'ta go after something that was never yers in the first place...she's engaged to another man," he explained.

"I know all of that... but I have to try, or I'll never forgive myself," Jack argued determinedly. He went over and practically pulled Fabrizio away from his Norwegian sweetheart, and then all three men headed out onto the deck.

"Hey, a' what is all this?" Fabrizio scowled at his best friend.

"I need you fellas to lift me over the rail so I can sneak into first class, then you can both go back to your lady loves," Jack teased them.

"Jack-o, just forget her, it's like she's closed the door!" Tommy argued as they followed behind him. Jack ignored him and scrambled up onto a platform. "He's not bein' logical I tell ye," he muttered to Fabrizio, shaking his head as they too scrambled up onto said platform.

"Amore is not illogical," Fabrizio told him, thinking of how his own romance was in a sense, also forbidden.

They pushed Jack up and he climbed over the rail. He thanked them, and then rushed off to find a disguise, while they scrambled back down onto the deck. Suddenly, one of the deck crew members spotted them. "Hey! You aren't supposed to be up here!" he yelled, shaking his finger towards the sign that said **Third Class Passengers are not allowed beyond this point**.

Fabrizio quickly opened the gate and they rushed back down to the third class deck. "We go! We go!"

The two men returned to the general room, where they again sat down with their respective sweethearts. "Did ye miss me, Princess?" Tommy asked his fiancé with a wily smirk.

Shannon giggled and sat down in his lap. "More than ye know, Bastard," she replied, planting soft kisses all over his bloody scrape between his eye and nose.

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	20. The Truth Comes Out

**gA/N: Thanks spikessweetgirl75 and the Guest reviewer for your feedback ;)**

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_The Truth Comes Out_

A few hours ticked by and it was already late afternoon, a little over half past three to be exact. The sun was still shining brightly as it made the turquoise waters twinkle under it's radiance, and the cool sea breeze felt even better than before. Out on the third class deck, Tommy and Fabrizio were playing cards while their sweethearts watched.

Tommy had just won another round of poker. "Pay up," he told the scowling Italian with a wide smirk across his face.

Fabrizio shot a teasing glare at the smirking Irishman as he pushed some silver coins into the betting pool. "Here, you take it, bastardo," he told him.

"Thank ye much." Tommy grinned as he scooped up his incredibly small fortune and put it in his trousers' pocket.

"It's niente." Fabrizio shook his head as he collected all of the cards. It was mostly his best friend's money that he'd bet, as, he didn't have much of his own money to start out with, so it wasn't too much of a loss for him.

"Ye men are constantly betting what ye don't have," Shannon interjected with an eye roll. "Tommy, give him his money back right now," she scolded her fiancé.

"Oh fine, if ye insist, Shanny," Tommy muttered with a scowl. "Take yer money back..." he said as he pushed the loot back towards his friend.

"Grazie." Fabrizio nodded as he picked out the coins that were his and put them back in his pocket.

"Good boy," Shannon whispered as she planted soft kisses all over her fiancé's face and climbed onto his back.

"I know I am." Tommy flashed his fiancé a wily smirk as he kissed her softly on the lips.

"Du er all silly," Helga piped up with a giggle as she did the same to her boyfriend.

"An' you are bella dolce signorina," Fabrizio said as he kissed her passionately and pulled her into his lap.

The couples continued to fool around until suddenly, they could hear footsteps descending down the stairs and walking across the deck towards them. It was Rose, clad in a striking sapphire colored dress, and her long ginger hair was down and wavy.

She stepped up to them, looking a bit nervous. "Excuse me, do any of you know where Jack might be?" she asked, shifting awkwardly on her heels.

Fabrizio scratched his chin and shrugged. "Maybe you try 'da bow, eh?" he suggested, remembering being up on the bow with his friend and watching the dolphins.

"Thank you so much," Rose said with a faint smile, waving as she walked back in the direction she came from.

"It's niente!" Fabrizio yelled after her.

Once she'd left, Tommy turned to his fiancé and softly rubbed his nose against hers. "I think it's tea time up in first class, might be a good time 'ta do sum'more snooping around me brother's room," he suggested in a low whisper.

Shannon nodded as she gently batted her eyelashes against the bridge of his nose. "All right, let's go," she agreed with a faint smile.

The Irish sweethearts stood up and bid farewell to their friends before rushing back down the stairs to G deck. They needed to stop in their cabin to plan, as, they couldn't just waltz right into first class.

...

Meanwhile up in the first class dining room, Carrick was not pleased with his partner for throwing the precious necklace overboard. "Are ye feckin' insane, or are ye just a bloody feckin' eejit?" he hissed across the table, squeezing his glass of brandy so hard he wouldn't be shocked if it shattered in his hand.

Joseph glowered at him and shrugged his shoulders. "What the bloody hell do ye care, eh?" he taunted. "It was yer fault we almost didn't even get it at all," he muttered under his breath.

"Why the hell would ye do that 'ta us, Joey?" Carrick demanded, his bright green eyes held a furious twinkle.

"I was drunk," Joseph snapped, knowing full well that he couldn't admit the real reason for doing it.

"Remind me why I shouldn't shoot ye in the head?" Carrick hissed at him.

"Go on, do it then, see if I give a shite," Joseph growled back at him.

"Yer bluffin'." Carrick rolled his eyes.

"No, no, put me outta me misery...let's go up 'ta yer cabin and ye can do it right there with no witnesses," Joseph insisted coolly. He was truly only half joking, the other half of him was completely serious about just ending it all...like he'd done with the necklace.

"Oh shut the hell up, I'm not gonna shoot ye, Jaysus," Carrick muttered irritably. Sometimes he just didn't understand why his partner said half of the things he said.

...

"So I was thinkin' ye put that dress back on an' I just sneak along behind ye, then we'll find his cabin an' search the room fer any evidence that he murdered O'Roarke," Tommy explained his plan, plopping himself down on their bed.

"All right, I can do that...but what if someone sees you?" Shannon cocked a skeptical eyebrow as she started to unbutton her blouse.

"Don't worry about me, sweet, I'm the Tomfooler, remember?" Tommy flashed her a wily smirk. He could feel his trousers getting tighter in the crotch as he watched his fiancé undress.

"Eye, yer a sneaky bugger," Shannon giggled at him. She quickly scrambled out of her third class clothes and stepped into the fancy plum colored dress.

Tommy grinned as he stood up and gently wrapped his arms around her waist. "I'll lace it up," he offered, planting gentle kisses on the side of her face.

Shannon giggled again as she felt his stiffness against her leg. "All right," she agreed, smiling softly at her fiancé and kissing his bloody scrape again.

Once she was in her dress, they slowly crept out of their cabin and down the hall towards the staircase to F deck. "So if we take this staircase, then walk down the hall a ways and take the one up to D deck, then we can probably take that big Grand Staircase up 'ta C deck...you go ahead a me an' I'll sneak along behind ye," Tommy told her quietly.

"All right, just be careful," Shannon agreed as she picked up her long skirt to walk up the stairs.

"I will be, don't ye worry," Tommy promised as he followed her up the steps.

...

Rory was searching everywhere he could think of for his elder sister, but she was nowhere to be seen, nor was her boyfriend. "Shite...I hope I didn't wait too long...where the hell could they be?" he grumbled softly to himself.

Suddenly, as he was walking down one of the F deck corridors towards the dining saloon, he spotted them. His sister was wearing a very nice dress, something the likes of a first class girl would wear, and Tommy was crawling on the floor behind her. Although he found this incredibly odd, he decided not to question it. Instead, he was going to follow them to see what they were up to.

...

After taking several flights of stairs and walking through countless hallways, Shannon slowly crept up to her soon-to-be brother-in-law's cabin door. "I'll use me hairpin 'ta unlock it," she whispered to her fiancé, who was crouched on the floor beside her.

Tommy nodded and crawled closer to the door, peering underneath it to make sure that his brother wasn't in there. "Eye, go fer it," he whispered back.

"Hold on," Shannon told him, reaching up and taking out one of her hairpins. She stuck it into the keyhole and jiggled it around for a second until it clicked. "Shh, follow me," she said quietly, slowly opening the door.

"Eye, right behind you," Tommy replied in a low whisper, crawling into his brother's suite room after his fiancé. "Ouch, shite," he muttered, nearly knocking his head on the door-frame.

Shannon giggled softly as she closed it behind them. "Will ye shush, ye adorable eejit?" she scolded.

Tommy flashed his fiancé a joking glare. "Would if I could, sweetheart." He stood up and brushed himself off.

"So where in the world are we supposed 'ta find evidence of O'Roarke's murder in here?" Shannon questioned, looking around the spacious room . "This room is huge, by the time we'd be able 'ta find anything he'll come back an' catch us," she observed with an annoyed edge in her voice.

"I think me brother used 'ta keep a diary of sorts...I'll bet it's in here somewhere, if we could just find that," Tommy mused, scratching his head.

"Again I tell ye, it'll be like finding a needle in a haystack," Shannon huffed, crossing her arms.

"Shh, calm yerself, Princess." Tommy smirked at his fiancé, a wily twinkle in his warm hazel eyes. "It's an adventure, I'm sure we'll be able 'ta find it before me brother gets back," he said.

"I hope yer right, Bastard." Shannon let out an airy giggle at the goofy expression across her fiancé's face.

...

Rory peeked through the keyhole of the first class cabin door. He could faintly see that his sister was kneeling on the floor as she searched through someone's suitcase, while her boyfriend was crawling around the room, checking under the furniture for whatever it was they seemed to be looking for.

_I hope they aren't gonna steal anything... _He mused, suddenly feeling worried. _Nah...m' sister would never do that... _He reassured himself quickly, shaking his head.

...

"JACKPOT!" Tommy yelled suddenly.

"Bloody hell, what is it?" Shannon snapped, startled by his outburst.

"I found it! His diary..." Tommy replied, crawling across the floor to sit beside his fiancé. "Come on, let's look together," he said.

"Eye, open it up," Shannon urged, snuggling into his chest.

Tommy slowly opened the old leather bound book and flipped through the pages, going through until he found the date that he was looking for. "Ready 'ta know the truth, sweet?" he asked his fiancé. Shannon merely nodded and he started to read aloud.

_"March 3rd, 1912._

_Tonight I murdered my best friend, William J. O'Roarke. Goodbye, Billy. It was fun while it lasted."_

Shannon let out a loud gasp. "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph..." she breathed.

Tommy just shook his head in disgust. "Me own brother is a murderer...that despicable bastard, he's gonna pay fer what he's done if it's the last thing I ever do," he swore, the fury flashing in his eyes.

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	21. Embracing The Past

**A/N: Thanks spikessweetgirl75 and the two guest reviewers Mia and Guest for your feedback! I truly appreciate it so much you guys are awesome. :)**

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_Embracing The Past_

The day had ticked by fast, and it was now time for supper. Tommy and Shannon had elected to sit alone, feeling too emotional to interact with their friends. They couldn't believe that they had finally figured out the culprit behind the O'Roarke's son's murder.

Tommy muttered furiously into his beer glass. "Me own brother is a murderer... damn him... if our mam and da only knew..." He kept shaking his head over and over again as if he had some sort of nervous twitch, and he hadn't even touched his supper. He was far too angry for food.

Shannon softly blew on her spoonful of hot soup. "I knew yer brother was a complete arse...an' I was suspicious of his strange behavior...but even I never saw this comin'..." she agreed quietly, slowly pouring some soup onto her bread roll and taking a bite.

"I just don't understand what would drive him 'ta commit murder...there's other ways a' handling things..." Tommy muttered as he shook his head again, a gleam of fury in his eyes.

"Well there must have been some sort of reason...I don't think yer brother would just murder O'Roarke outta nowhere," Shannon mused softly, a worried expression across her face.

"No reason in the world can justify takin' someone's life," Tommy grumbled angrily as he shoved a bread roll into his mouth.

"I know that, but perhaps yer brother has a different logic," Shannon commented calmly as she sipped her warm tea.

Tommy scoffed and scratched his ear. "Eye. A fecked up one," he replied sarcastically.

Shannon managed a faint smile. "He's a pretty fecked up person 'ta start," she giggled softly.

"Ye can say that again," Tommy agreed. He gently squeezed his fiancé's hand across the table. "Yer me sweet girl," he told her.

"Yer brother is a fecked up bastard," Shannon giggled. She softly rubbed her fiancé's leg under the table with her foot. "An' yer me charming boy," she told him.

"I love ye." Tommy grinned as he leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips.

"I love ye too." Shannon smiled against his lips.

"Eye, but I don't love me brother...I just want 'ta beat him to a bloody pulp," Tommy grumbled, dipping his bread into his soup so forcefully that it splashed.

"Please don't say that...I hate it when ye fight," Shannon whimpered, sipping her tea as tears formed in her eyes.

"I know, I'm sorry, sweet," Tommy apologized quickly.

"It's all right, love," Shannon replied softly.

They didn't speak to each other for a few minutes while they finished their supper, but then Tommy spoke again. "Would ye like 'ta go fer a walk out on the deck?" he asked his fiancé. "I think some fresh air might be nice, plus it's quieter out there," he explained.

Shannon nodded as she set her cup of tea down on the table. "Eye, all right, let's go," she agreed, managing a small smile at her fiancé.

...

Joseph had decided to skip dinner in first class. The last thing he'd wanted to do was go and participate in all that mindless chatter, when he had far more important things to think about. This had infuriated his partner, who had then had to go down and socialize alone.

He slowly paced back in forth between the wall and the desk in his suite room, as he'd been doing for the past couple of hours. "Someone's been in here..." he mused. There was a smell in the room that he couldn't quite put his finger on. _It sort of reminds me of being back in Dunfanaghy... the smell of cheap ciggies an' beer, the ocean...fresh baked bread... _There was also a general feeling in the air as if someone else had been there while he was away.

Suddenly, he walked into his bedroom to find his diary open on the floor, and his suspicions were confirmed. "Oh bloody feckin' shite...no..." he muttered as a feeling of utter panic washed over him.

No matter who had found his diary, it was not going to end well. _Carrick would take my head off if he read all the times I'd thought about escaping this life of crime and lies. My brother and his wee fiancé would tell someone and get me arrested for the rest of my miserable existence...Oh God, spare me..._

"Eye...I need a walk..." he mumbled, staggering towards the door as if he might faint. Thoughts flooded his mind, and overwhelmed him to the point of wanting to end it all. _Should I just go to the stern and jump? _He wondered, feeling sick as he rushed out of his room.

...

Tommy and Shannon held hands as they walked along the deck. The cool sea air blew over them, it smelled fishy and had an icy bite to it. "It's awfully cold, colder than it usually is out here," Tommy commented, scratching his face.

Shannon nodded. "Eye, it is quite chilly," she agreed, pulling her shawl tighter around herself.

"I can actually smell ice, I'll bet there's some big icebergs out on these waters," Tommy mused, looking out on the dark ocean.

"I'm sure there is, I've heard this water is freezing this time of year," Shannon replied, slowly walking towards the rail.

Suddenly, loud footsteps rushed past them, and they turned to see a young man with dark hair clambering over the stern rail. On closer inspection, they realized who it was. _Joseph._

Tommy clenched his fists and slowly approached his brother. "Hey!" he yelled.

Joseph's head snapped around and his alert amber eyes went wide. "Get the hell away from me," he hissed.

"YOU MURDERED BILLY O'ROARKE YE SONONFABITCH!" Tommy roared, charging towards the stern and yanking his brother backwards off the rail. "AN YE WERE GONNA TRY AN' JUMP LIKE A COWARD SO YE DIDN'T HAVE TA DEAL WITH YER PATHETIC LIFE ANYMORE, WEREN'T YE?" He kicked him hard in the leg and backed up a few steps, literally shaking with fury.

"YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YER TALKIN' ABOUT!" Joseph shouted in reply, scrambling to his feet and brushing himself off. "NOW YE STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME AN KEEP YER FECKIN' NOSE OUTTA ME PERSONAL BUSINESS!"

Tommy glowered at his elder brother. "If it were just the two of us here right now, I'd beat ye ta a bloody pulp," he told him in a low whisper.

Joseph smirked at his younger brother. "And I'd welcome yer hostile actions, please, end me miserable life," he replied with an edge of bitterness in his voice.

"Go 'ta hell ye sonofabitch," Tommy grumbled, storming off in the opposite direction towards the third class general room.

"Wait, Shannon..." Joseph reached out and grabbed his soon-to-be sister-in-law's arm just as she'd turned to follow her fiancé. "Please listen 'ta me," he begged her.

He needed someone-anyone-to listen to him. He needed to tell the entire story once and for all about why he murdered O'Roarke and let himself turn into such a despicable person. It was the only way he felt like he could start to turn his life around.

Shannon wore a pained expression across her face, almost as if she felt sorry for him. "I-I should really go..." she stammered, shifting nervously on her feet.

She knew her fiancé would be infuriated with her if he knew that she'd stopped to talk to his brother. Plus, she was sort of afraid of her soon-to-be brother-in-law after finding out the truth about him only a few hours before.

"Please, I need ta tell someone...anyone...why I murdered O'Roarke. Why I became such a horrible, despicable, disgusting person. I'm tryin' so hard ta escape this sinful life I'm living, but I can't until I share me story," Joseph pleaded in a low whisper. There was a twinkle of utter desperation in his eyes and a single tear dripped down his face.

"Fine," Shannon sighed. "But if ye expect me 'ta stay, then ye better tell me why the hell ye were tryin' 'ta jump off the ship if ye claim 'ta want 'ta turn yer life around," she snapped irritably.

"Because this guilt is eating away at me, now, can I tell ye or not?" Joseph huffed impatiently.

"Go ahead." Shannon nodded for him to continue.

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Mwahahaha cliff hanger! Tell me what you think, your feedback means the world to me! :D


	22. Of Regret and Revelations

**A/N: Thanks to spikessweetgirl75 for your feedback on every chapter, it means so much to me that you're enjoying this story :)**

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_Of Regret and Revelations_

Joseph cleared his throat and wiped his nose on the sleeve of his dark blue suit coat. "All right...so O'Roarke isn't the lad ye remember from back home. We all went into business together, y'see, he, Carrick, and m'self... an' he changed fer the worse," he started.

Shannon cocked a skeptical eyebrow. "In what way?" she prodded.

"The company was named O'Roarke and Co. It was a trade business and Billy, bein' the wealthiest of us three, decided that he should be the boss because it was his inheritance that funded our establishment. He completely took over everythin' to the point that Carrick and I were merely his assistants, doing the most degrading tasks ye could think of...like gettin' his coffee every bloody morning. He constantly made us feel inferior, like we weren't even part a' the business' success and he was doin' all the important work. I began 'ta regret ever runnin' away...but I was too ashamed to come back, because I didn't want 'ta admit that I was so wrong in thinkin' I could go off and make m'self a better man than what I came from. Then Carrick's influence crept in on me, ever so slowly, he's a criminal mastermind he is... he was always whisperin' stuff in m' ear about murderin' our boss and taking over the company fer ourselves. So one night, when I'd finally reached me boiling point and felt as if I had nothing else to lose in the world, I slit Billy's throat... an' Carrick was right there breathin' down me neck. I still regret it, I still have nightmares about it, but that night I honestly felt like I had no other option, y'see. After that, I let Carrick lead me into a life of crime and lies... we turned the company into a black market trade business and began screwin' over the wealthiest sons a bitches in the world 'ta get what we have now...none of our wealth came fairly, as I assume ye guessed. But I want out a' this life... I miss the simplicity a' bein' a young lad back in Dunfanaghy... I miss me little brother..." Joseph explained, choking up at the last sentence.

"Jaysus, I had no idea..." Shannon breathed, her eyes widening in utter disbelief.

"I regret everythin' I've done up 'ta this point so badly... an' the thing that makes me wanna just end it all right now is the fact that I can't erase all these horrible mistakes I've made, all these despicable crimes I've committed, all these awful lies I've told..." Joseph shook his head, once again glancing towards the railing.

"I-I don't really know what else 'ta say..." Shannon could feel warm tears rolling down her own cheeks. "Please, don't end yer life... ye can't erase what ye've done but ye can atone fer it if ye do enough good deeds," she pleaded him.

"Like what?" Joseph questioned miserably. "Me brother hates me guts... I can never get me family back...not ever," he explained.

"Ye know yer brother is just a stubborn Irishman. He doesn't know any better... and he doesn't know all of the things ye just told me. So give him a chance 'ta come round," Shannon replied softly.

"He won't, I know he won't." Joseph shook his head and held up his hand to stop her from protesting.

"Give him a chance 'ta cool off, then maybe ye can find a way 'ta talk 'ta him." Shannon flashed him a soft smile as she patted his shoulder.

Joseph scoffed. "Eye, an' even if fer some miraculous reason he does decide 'ta forgive me... what can I do 'ta not go 'ta hell fer all the other things I've done, eh?" he asked irritably.

Shannon shrugged. "I don't know, that's fer you 'ta figure out when a time comes, an opportunity 'ta do good," she said quietly.

Suddenly, Joseph spotted something sparkly on her finger. "Are ye an' me brother finally engaged?" he wanted to know, a gleam of curiosity in his warm amber eyes.

Shannon let out a soft giggle and smiled at him. "Eye, we are," she replied. "Ye know... it would be nice 'ta have ye at the wedding, we're trying 'ta go to Chicago fer a few years an' then go back 'ta Dunfanaghy...Tommy wants 'ta work on the harbor with the boats," she added.

Joseph nodded slowly. "Can ye do me a favor?" he asked, an idea popping into his head about how to get his brother to listen.

"What?" Shannon prodded, looking a bit confused.

"Can ye just ask me brother 'ta consider forgivin' me?" Joseph inquired, a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Why don't ye ask him yerself?" Shannon pushed. "It would mean more ta him comin' from you," she explained.

Just as Joseph was about to respond, however, the very subject of their conversation charged across the deck and pushed him backwards. "What the hell are you doin' with my fiancé?" his younger brother demanded angrily.

Shannon gently grabbed her fiancé's arm. "Tommy, stop... he's got something he wants 'ta say to you," she interjected.

Tommy's eyes flashed with fury. "And what the hell is that, eh, Joey?" he growled at his elder brother.

"Look, I've made some bad decisions in me life...if ye want 'ta know the whole story, ask Shannon later. All I'll tell ye right now is that I'm sorry fer bein' such a horrible brother, such a terrible son, such a sorry excuse of a man...I'm tryin' 'ta turn me life around now. I regret murderin' O'Roarke but I had me own reasons fer doin' it, it wasn't out of malicious intent," Joseph explained slowly. "So...what I'm really tryin' 'ta say is...it would mean the world 'ta me if I could have me little brother back," he told him, another tear dripping down from his eyes.

"So after five years ye suddenly feel like apologizin' just because the guilt is too much?" Tommy snapped angrily. "Hell no, I don't forgive ye... I can't...ye murdered a man fer God's sake how can I trust ye?"

Joseph shook his head and sighed miserably. "If ye'd just listen 'ta me... I'll tell ye the whole story... I just..." he started, but was interrupted by his brother punching him square in the jaw.

"NO!" Tommy shouted, infuriated.

Shannon let out a soft gasp and pulled on her fiancé's suspenders' straps. "All right, was that really necessary, Thomas Ryan?" she scolded him.

"OH SO NOW YER ON HIS SIDE TOO?" Tommy roared in exasperation. "I'M DONE WITH HIS SHITE, LET'S GO!" He gently took his fiancé's arm in his and dragged her away.

Joseph scrambled to his feet just in time to see them walking back down the stairs to the third class general room. He could faintly hear lively Irish music floating up the steps. He held his bruised jaw and a bit of blood from his lip dripped out onto the back of his hand.

_I'm not going to jump...not yet...I have a plan to get my brother to listen to me...but I'm going to need to use his fiancé to get to him...I'm not going to harm her-she's a nice girl-...he's just going to think I am...and when he comes running to her rescue, he'll have to listen to me once and for all..._

_..._

Tommy held his fiancé close to him as they danced to a slow jig. "I'm sorry fer yellin' at ye, sweet," he apologized in a low whisper, planting a soft kiss on her lips. "Me brother just... he gets 'ta me," he explained.

Shannon buried her face in her fiancé's soft shirt. "It's all right, love," she replied softly. "I understand, we can talk more about this once ye've calmed down a bit," she added.

"I don't know what lies he fed ye out there, but I don't trust him one bit," Tommy said in a low hiss. He gently stroked the side of her face and kissed her again. "Just trust the fact that I love ye more than the world itself," he told her.

"Let's just dance and not think about this right now," Shannon decided with a faint smile. "And I love ye too, more than everything," she told him.

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	23. The Abduction

**Thanks to spikessweetgirl75 and the Guest reviewer for your feedback!**

**Enjoy this next chapter!**

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_The Abduction_

Back down in the steerage, it was getting late but people were still dancing wildly around the crowded general room. The air reeked of human sweat, cigarette smoke, and alcohol.

Tommy sat at a table in the back of the room with his fiancé in his lap. "I love ye, Princess," he said in a low whisper.

Shannon giggled and gently rubbed noses with her fiancé. "I love ye too, Bastard," she replied softly.

"I swear to ye, everything is gonna be amazing once we reach the promise land in a few short days," Tommy told her as he took a sip of his cool, foamy beer.

"I know, I'm not worried anymore, I trust ye," Shannon told him as she twiddled her engagement ring around on her finger.

Tommy merely nodded. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke again. "Can our first baby be a boy?" he asked. His warm hazel eyes held a glimmer of hope.

He'd been thinking a lot about their future together, and had decided that it would be nice to start their family as soon as possible once he got a job. He didn't want to be an old dad like his own father. It had always bothered him a bit how much older his parents were than those of his friends.

Shannon smiled, an amused expression across her face. "I don't control that, ye adorable eejit, only God can decide the baby's gender," she said with a soft giggle.

"I know, but will ye pray fer a boy with me?" Tommy wanted to know. "I really want 'ta continue the Ryan line a' big, strong, Irishmen," he added.

"Of course I will, I want what you want," Shannon replied quietly. "If that's what you want, that's what I want," she said.

"What should his name be?" Tommy asked excitedly, as if there was already a baby on the way.

"Hmm...Seamus?" Shannon suggested happily. She'd always loved that name.

"And what about Nolan for his middle name?" Tommy offered, a wide grin spreading across his face.

"Seamus Nolan Ryan, the best of us both." Shannon smiled and planted a soft kiss on her fiancé's lips.

Tommy flashed her a wily smirk. "Thank ye, sweet," he said, taking another huge gulp of his beer as he took off his bowler hat.

Shannon giggled softly again. "What made ye start thinking about babies all of the sudden anyways?" she asked him. "Every time I asked ye about it, ye always said it was whatever I wanted and didn't seem terribly interested," she added.

Tommy merely shrugged. "I've just been thinkin' a lot about me own father...he's an old man now. He's always been good for advice and he's got a lot of wisdom and knowledge about the world; he's taught me a lot. But he and me mam are so much older than all my friends' parents...hell, yer grandparents are only a few years older than them. I don't want to be an old father like my da, I want 'ta start our family as soon as I get a job and start makin' some money...I'd like 'ta start in a month or two if it's all right with ye," he explained.

"Oh, Tommy, how I'd hoped you'd say that... I want 'ta start right away too," Shannon said, her eyes twinkling with utter delight.

"Eye, Shanny, ye know I'd give ye anything...let's get 'ta Chicago and make our six wee babies right away," Tommy replied, another wide grin spreading across his face.

"I'd give ye anything too," Shannon told him, planting more soft kisses on his bloody scrape. It still looked so painful.

"Yeah? Like what?" Tommy wanted to know, a gleam of lust in his warm hazel eyes.

"Whatever yer thinkin' right now," Shannon giggled, a sly smile playing on her soft lips.

"Even goin' back 'ta the cargo hold?" Tommy questioned.

"Yer a bad boy, Mr. Ryan." Shannon kissed him again.

"And yer a bad girl, Miss O'Neal." Tommy kissed her back.

Shannon wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm a bit tired, love, can we postpone this until tomorrow?" she asked with a whispery giggle.

Tommy flashed her a joking scowl and pulled her closer. "Yer a tease, aren't ye, girly?" he replied with a smirk. "All right, we'll wait until tomorrow...but it better be good," he said.

"Don't worry, love, it will be." Shannon gently rubbed noses with him.

"I'm sure it will be, sweet, any time I spend with ye is amazing." Tommy planted a soft kiss on her lips.

...

Joseph rushed around his cabin, getting everything set up for his plan. He'd come to the conclusion that the only way to escape his maniacal partner, was with his brother's forgiveness and trust.

He had to feel as if he had something to fight for, and if Tommy forgave and trusted him, then he'd have the strength to finally break free from the sinful life he'd been living for the past five years.

He threw some rope on the bed and took a deep breath, going over his plan once more in his head: _1) Grab the girl from her bed and leave evidence of her abduction for his brother to find and use to find her right away. 2) Tie the girl to his own bed and as soon as he hears his brother pounding and yelling, start shaking the girl and threatening her to make her scream and or cry loudly. 3) His brother will think he's raping her and barge in, only to meet a locked bedroom door. 4) He'll tell his brother the only way he'll stop "raping" his fiancé and let him in, is if he promises to listen to his whole story. 5) His brother will realize that his fiancé was not harmed in any way and perhaps be willing to listen. 6) His brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law can help him come up with a way to escape his despicable partner once and for all._

"God, spare me for this deceitful act I'm about to commit against my brother... " he muttered to himself as he walked over and opened his bedroom door.

...

"I'm getting sleepy, love. I think I'm going to go back to the cabin," Shannon told her fiancé, planting a tender kiss on his forehead.

"Do ye want me to go with ye?" Tommy wanted to know, gently rubbing his nose against hers.

"That's all right, you can stay an' have a few more beers an' talk to the boys if ye want," Shannon replied, kissing him one more time as she scooted off of his lap.

"Eye, yer my sweet," Tommy said with a wily grin, lighting a fresh cigarette and popping it into his mouth. He waved to her and then got up to go talk to some of the other Irishmen across the room.

He would've talked to Jack and Fabrizio, but the former was nowhere to be seen, and the latter was preoccupied with kissing his Norwegian sweetheart against the wall on the opposite side of the room.

The other Irishmen were playing poker and arm wrestling, so he figured it might be nice to have a few more beers and smokes with them before retiring to his cabin for the night.

...

Joseph picked the lock of his brother's cabin door and crept inside. He hid in the shadows in between the beds and waited for about five minutes, when suddenly, the door creaked open.

Sure enough, Shannon walked in and sat down on the lower bed. She took off her shoes and started to unbutton her blouse, all while humming a little Irish diddy to herself._ "...in the hills of Connemara..." _

Joseph closed his eyes, as not to watch her undress, and then opened them again once he heard her crawling under the covers. He waited for about twenty minutes, and then slowly crept over to the side of her bed.

Shannon was laying on her back with her hands crossed over her chest. She looked so content, and he felt sort of guilty that he was about to disturb her slumber, but he knew that he had no other options to get his brother up to his cabin.

"Forgive me, God," he muttered, ever so slowly scooping his future sister-in-law up in his arms.

"THE BLOODY HELL!?" Shannon screamed, decking him square in the jaw as he eyes popped wide open. One minute she was fast asleep, and the next she was being man-handled. She couldn't even see who it was in the dark, and she was afraid.

"Shut up, girl," Joseph hissed furiously as he carried her towards the door. He knew that he couldn't have anyone hearing their struggle, or else his plan would surely fail.

"Put me DOWN, Joseph Ryan!" Shannon yelled at him, kicking him hard in the leg. She was even more agitated once she'd realized who had grabbed her. _I knew I shouldn't have trusted that conniving bastard! _

"SHUT IT!" Joseph roared at her, slapping her hard across the face. He felt bad for having to get rough with her, but it was the only way to get her to stop making such a ruckus. _I can't get caught...I'm too close...there's too much at stake now..._

Shannon could feel scorching tears rolling down from her eyes. "I listen to ye and this is what ye do?" she asked softly, as if she might cry.

Joseph sighed miserably and hung his head. "Look, it's complicated... I'm not gonna harm ye, I just need 'ta get me brother's attention somehow," he explained gently, immediately regretting his act of violence.

"By abductin' me?" Shannon hissed. "Yer insane!" she snapped at him.

"I'm just tryin' 'ta make things right again...you'll see," Joseph whispered. He ripped off his bowtie and threw it onto the floor, where it landed next to a rather large drop of blood that had fallen when she'd punched him in the jaw. "There...evidence...me brother's gonna come get ye," he told her.

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Please let me know what you think-your feedback means the world to me!


	24. No Looking Back

**A/N: Thanks to spikessweetgirl75 and llma for reviewing, and to That Girl55 and BlueRain2014 for following/favoriting! :)**

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_No Looking Back_

Joseph carried his brother's fiancé into his cabin. He gently tied her to his bed and shoved a towel in her mouth to gag her. By this point, she was so exhausted, that she'd finally stopped fighting him and just let him do it.

He noticed a single tear drip down from her watery blue eyes. "It's gonna be all right, me brother will come fer ye very soon, an' when he does...I'm gonna make things right again," he whispered, softly wiping it away with his sleeve.

Shannon sniffled and managed a weak nod. She wanted to tell him that abducting her wouldn't solve any of his problems, that it would likely complicate things even more, but she couldn't because of the towel in her mouth.

She was suddenly overcome with intense fear and anxiety, when she realized that she didn't understand what exactly Joseph was going to do to her. He was a madman, how in the world could she trust anything he said? All she wanted now was for Tommy to come and get her. "Mmy..." she mumbled, more scorching hot tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I'm not goin' 'ta harm ye, I swear," Joseph insisted, reaching down to wipe the tears away. _I don't want the poor girl to be afraid...I wish I could tell her my plan...but she'd never help me if I did..._

"'re 'n'sa'ne..." Shannon sobbed against the towel, turning her head sharply so he couldn't touch her. _I don't trust a word out of his mouth...he is the devil, I'm so foolish for even listening to him..._

...

Tommy was arm-wrestling a man named Sean O'Meara, when a sudden feeling of dread washed over him, and he allowed his opponent to slam his hand down against the hard wooden table. Their cool, foamy beers spilling everywhere and staining their sleeves.

Something didn't feel right at all to him. He could tell immediately that something was wrong. "I-I'm sorry... I've got to go..." he mumbled, nearly tripping over his own feet as he scrambled out of his chair and ran out of the general room. His gut was telling him that he'd better get back to his cabin quickly and check on his fiancé.

He ran all the way down the hallway and down the staircase by the steerage kitchens, where the smell of fresh baked bread wafted into his nostrils, making him hungry but he knew he couldn't stop.

He also spotted Fabrizio and Helga kissing underneath the stairs again in their cozy embrace as he charged down another hallway. He ran down one more staircase and hallway, before he finally reached the door of his cabin.

Though it had only been a few minutes, the journey down to his cabin had felt like an eternity. Something was wrong; he could smell it as clearly as he'd smelled the bread.

"Shanny, ye all right, sweet?" he asked, barging in and rushing over to their bed. However, upon pulling back the covers, he realized that his fiancé was not in the bed at all. She wasn't anywhere to be seen in the room, either.

"Oh feckin' shite...where the hell could she have gone...she wouldn't just...wait..." His eyes suddenly fell upon a blood-stained bowtie lying on the floor. "JOSEPH!" he roared, charging back out of the cabin. _I'll rip his eyes out if he even touches her..._

_..._

Joseph locked both his cabin door as well as his bedroom door, and then sat down on the bed to wait for his brother, whom he was positive would be pounding to be let in any second now.

Sure enough, not even ten minutes later, his brother's infuriated shouting pierced the air. "OPEN UP!" Tommy yelled, not even caring that there were other passengers and stewards roaming the hallways, who could easily have him arrested at any moment.

"THEN YER GONNA LISTEN TO ME STORY!" Joseph roared back. He began to shake the terrified young lady in the bed to make her scream. His brother needed to think he was raping her. "OR IT'LL BE YER SWEETHEART WHO PAYS!" he added.

"YE BETTER KEEP YER GRIMY HANDS OFFA HER!" Tommy growled, pounding and kicking at the door. He swore if his brother even laid two fingers on his fiancé, he'd murder him like his brother had done to the O'Roarke' s son. He slammed himself against the hard wooden frame, and actually managed to break through.

"COME ON IN, BROTHER!" Joseph shouted, letting out a maniacal laugh. Neither of them caring what any passersby might do or think.

"EYE, SO YE LOCKED THIS DOOR TOO?" Tommy roared, slamming himself against the frame again. "DON'T YE TOUCH HER, I SWEAR I'LL TEAR YER EYES OUT!" He couldn't, he wouldn't, let anything happen to the girl that meant the world to him. She was his whole life, and he'd sworn to always keep her safe and out of harm's way.

His vision became blurred and his head began pounding as he tried desperately to block out the images of what his brother was threatening to do...or was possibly already doing. _Jesus, if he even touches her... I swear... _

He remembered the last time someone had threatened Shannon, and what he'd done to them for it, as if it were only a few days ago. In reality, it was a few years ago, but his memory of it was spotless.

The local bullies led by a tall boy named Brendan MacFee, had taken her deep into the woods overlooking their village and tried to take advantage of her, but were unsuccessful because Tommy and Ricky MacShane had arrived just in time.

Tommy had beaten Brendan so badly for even touching the girl he secretly loved, that three years later, he still couldn't turn his neck completely and he had a nasty scar under his left eye.

The one thing that drove Tommy absolutely mad, to the point of beating a person senseless, was when someone threatened Shannon. He was a fairly tolerant man, but that was the one thing in the world that he couldn't, and wouldn't, stand for.

Joseph knew what he had to do. "It's too late for that!" he lied, violently shaking his brother's fiancé until she was crying hysterically. "Hear how she's pleadin' me to stop? Hear how she's callin' fer ye?" he taunted. As much as he hated doing it, he knew it was the one way to lure his brother, who otherwise wouldn't even come near him, into his room.

Shannon continued to scream for her fiancé. She didn't know exactly what was happening, nor did she really care to find out. All she wanted was to be rescued by the man she loved. "MMY!" she sobbed, trying desperately to free her wrists from the rope that bound her to the bed. She could taste her own salty tears as they rolled down her face.

She remembered the time she'd been groped and shaken and slapped around by MacFee's gang back home in County Donegal, and how utterly terrified she'd been before Tommy and Ricky had come to her rescue.

Tommy let out another loud roar and charged at the door again, this time breaking through into the bedroom. "I'LL MURDER YE! I'LL DO IT, YE SICK FECKIN' BASTARD!" he yelled, pouncing on his brother as they both collapsed onto the floor.

His emotions came alive once again as he began to pound his elder brother senseless. He could hear his fiancé weeping in the background and swore to make Joseph pay for what he'd done. _How dare he violate MY fiancé...how dare he make her cry...I'm going to murder him for being the sorry bastard he is..._

"GET OFFA ME, YE MAD FOOL!" Joseph shouted back, pushing his brother off of him. "LOOK AT 'ER, SHE'S FINE!" He nodded towards the distressed young lady in the bed, who was bound and gagged and crying, but otherwise didn't look as if she'd been harmed. "THIS WHOLE THING WAS A HOAX TA GET YE IN HERE, YE EEJIT!" he roared, brushing himself off.

"Ye all right, sweet?" Tommy's voice softened and his eyes welled with tears as he rushed over to the bed. "Did he touch ye? Did he?" he demanded, quickly untying her hands and taking the towel out of her mouth.

"H-He slapped me...an' shook me..." Shannon choked out, burying her face in his soft shirt. She began to weep even harder because she felt safe in her fiancé's strong arms, and was so relieved that he'd rescued her on time. She had no idea what her future brother-in-law would have done to her if he hadn't come when he did.

"Did he try 'ta take advantage of ye? Did he try anything sexual at all?" Tommy prodded, embracing her tightly. "Ye tell me God's truth," he said.

"N-No... h-he just said that 'ta get...'ta get ye in here...I-I think," Shannon sobbed, shaking violently against him. "Please don't let go 'a me," she pleaded.

"Don't ye worry, I'm right here now," Tommy whispered soothingly. He sat down on the bed and pulled her into his lap. "I'm right here now," he repeated, kissing away her tears.

* * *

Okay...did that chapter go by too fast? If you guys want me to add more detail let me know, because I'll probably end up editing this again anyways... Let me know what you think, your feedback means the world to me!

ALSO-I changed up the abduction scene in the last chapter.


	25. Icy Waters

**A/N: Thanks so much to spikessweetgirl75 and the Guest reviewer for your feedback, and to bluefox93 and for following! :)**

* * *

_Icy Waters_

Once Tommy had managed to calm his fiancé down enough, he turned a furious glare on his brother. "What the hell were you thinkin', eh?" he demanded. "Ye got five seconds to explain yerself or I'll tear yer eyes out," he hissed.

Joseph took a deep breath and leaned against the wall. "Look... I needed a way 'ta get ye up here. I swear I wasn't really gonna touch her. I need 'ta tell ye me whole story; from leavin' home 'ta murdering O'Roarke," he explained.

"I DON'T CARE WHY YE DID ANY OF THOSE THINGS, THE FACT IS YE STILL DID 'EM!" Tommy roared, standing up. "AND WHY THE HELL SHOULD I LISTEN TO YE ANYWAYS AFTER THIS FOOLISH STUNT YE JUS' PULLED?" he added, his eyes flashing with fury.

"I HAD ME REASONS AND I REGRET DOIN' ALL OF THOSE HORRIBLE THINGS I'VE DONE, MORE THAN YE KNOW, ACTUALLY!" Joseph countered, clenching his fists. "STOP BEIN' SO STUBBORN FER ONCE IN YER LIFE, JAYSUS, MAN!" he yelled, his face reddening more and more by the minute.

Shannon sat on the bed, shaking. "Please stop yellin' so loud...ye'll get yerselves arrested!" she scolded them as she fought back more tears. She hated seeing them fight. "Fer God's sake, stop it, yer brothers!"

Tommy shook his head angrily. "He's no brother a' mine, and he's certainly no son of me parents...HE LEFT US! HE'S NOTHIN' BUT A FILTHY, LYIN', CONNIVIN', MURDERER!" He had nothing left in him to forgive his elder brother. Even if he'd wanted to, he couldn't bring himself to do so.

"I HAD MY REASONS AND I'M SORRY!" Joseph shouted, throwing an empty wine glass against the opposite wall and watching as it shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces all over the floor.

"I DON'T CARE IF YER SORRY!" Tommy roared in response, grabbing a shoe off the floor and throwing it at his brother, watching as it hit him square in the face and knocked him backwards.

"BASTARD!" Joseph yelled, absolutely infuriated at this point. _I'm just trying to explain myself and the stubborn bastard throws a shoe at me..._

"MURDERER!" Tommy countered. _I can't forgive him...I won't...no matter his reasons...nothing excuses such despicable acts...nothing!_

"STOP IT!" Shannon screamed. _So much fighting...too much fighting, I can't bloody take it!_

Joseph scowled angrily at his younger brother. "Ye know, I may be a horrible man fer all the things I've done...but yer a horrible brother fer not even bein' willing 'ta hear me side of the story," he said in a low whisper. In complete honesty, it hurt his feelings that his own flesh and blood denied him the chance to explain himself.

Tommy let out a contemptuous snort. "How the hell can I trust a word outta yer mouth?" he asked. "Ye act all sorry one minute, and then as soon as yer partner walks in...ye'll probably put a knife 'ta me neck just like ye did to O'Roarke! That's why I won't listen!" he explained coolly.

Suddenly, they heard footsteps, and a man emerged in the doorway. "What the hell is goin' on in here?" Carrick demanded, furiously eyeing the Irish sweethearts. He had no idea what his partner was up to, and he wanted to find out. _I swear if he confessed what we'd done to O'Roarke...I'll murder all three of 'em..._

"Er..." Joseph froze. "I-I was just...er..." he stammered. He was at a complete loss for words. He couldn't tell his partner what was really going on, or all three of them would be done for, so he decided that he had to play along. "I found these two snooping... I was just interrogatin' 'em, 'ta make sure they didn't find any of our private files," he explained quickly.

"Yeah, like the files that say yer partner here murdered Billy O'Roarke," Tommy hissed furiously. He wasn't afraid of his brother or his ginger-haired partner, he wanted to confront them for their crime once and for all. "The whole world will know what ye've done, and ye can rot in jail for it," he threatened.

"Ye eejit, he has a gun!" Shannon scolded quietly. Sometimes she really cursed her fiancé's inability to shut the hell up when necessary. Her eyes widened in fright as a twisted smirk came across the ginger-haired man's face and he pulled out something shiny from behind his back.

"Feckin' shite," Tommy muttered, his eyes going wide as well. _Jesus...I really am too stubborn for my own good... _

"Let's tie 'em up, Joey." Carrick flashed his partner an evil grin. "Here, I brought a gun for ye too," he said, tossing him a shiny pistol.

Joseph looked pleadingly at his brother, trying to communicate with his eyes that he was only going along with his partner to keep the situation from escalating for the worse. "Eye, let's do it," he agreed, blowing on his gun.

Tommy couldn't keep his eyes off of his elder brother as he was tied up by Carrick. "I knew ye were a bloody liar," he hissed, earning a sharp slap across the face via Carrick's gun. He had no idea that his brother was really on his side, and now found himself hating him more, if that was even possible.

Shannon whimpered as her hands were re-tied to the bedpost by Joseph. "Please don't do this..." she whispered, only to be completely ignored.

Outside, the RMS Titanic continued to sail along on the iceberg infested waters, it's occupants having no idea what tragedy awaited them. The air itself was freezing, and the waters below were even colder.

"Ye do realize we have to murder ye now," Carrick explained coolly, as if he did this every day. "We can't have ye walkin' around with that kind of information...we can't...we won't, go to jail," he said.

"Unless of course ye swear not 'ta tell a bloody soul," Joseph continued shakily. "Eh, Rick-o?" he asked. He hoped to God that his partner would say yes, otherwise, he had no idea what to do to save his brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law. _Hell, how do I know that ole Rick-o won't shoot me too when all is said and done... _

Carrick shook his head. "I don't know what the hell you've been smokin', ye can't trust 'em if we let 'em go... we've got 'ta end this right here, right now," he argued sternly. "Otherwise, ye'll be rottin' in a jail cell...and that's a bloody miserable existence," he said.

A man of many faces, there were only a few things in the world that he feared. Going to jail was his worst. He'd heard several stories from his uncles, who had slept in jail cells many a time for various crimes they'd committed, and he did not want to experience them for himself. His entire family was made up of criminals, so he'd learned his trade from the best and worst kinds.

Joseph swallowed hard. "Er...right," he agreed. _Bloody shite... _He slowly followed his partner's movements and put the pistol up to his soon-to-be sister-in-law's head as he watched his partner do the same to his brother.

"Don't move," he hissed under his breath. She managed a weak nod in reply.

"We'll count backwards from ten and pull the trigger," Carrick stated matter-of-factly, cracking an evil smirk as he blew on his gun.

Meanwhile, a large iceberg had been spotted directly in the ship's path, and the officers and crew were now scurrying madly to stop the ship in time to turn. First Officer William Murdoch stood on the bridge overlooking the icy waves, a gleam of horror in his bright blue eyes.

"Ten." Tommy and Shannon exchanged teary-eyed glances as their lives seemed to flash before their eyes.

_Come on, come on, turn... _Murdoch tapped his fingers nervously.

"Nine." They each remembered the last time they'd seen their families.

_Turn...turn... _Murdoch watched helplessly as the iceberg loomed ever closer.

"Eight." They each remembered the last time they'd seen their friends.

_Come on, turn..._The iceberg was like the devil himself, ready to suck all of their sorry souls down to a watery hell, Murdoch mused.

"Seven." They said goodbye to their hopes and dreams for the future, and more warm tears rolled down Shannon's cheeks as she imagined the six babies they had talked about having.

_Turn...come on, turn... _Murdoch's eyes widened even more as he realized the ship still wasn't slowing down enough.

"Six." Carrick smirked wider and wider by the second at the thought of ending another life. He was truly a criminal mastermind.

_Come on..._Murdoch tapped his fingers faster and faster against the bridge rail.

"Five." Joseph shook his head as he tried to clear all of the thoughts clouding his mind. He had to do something to stop this, but he didn't know what.

_Turn... _The great steamship sailed ever closer to the ice demon.

"Four." Tommy clenched his fists furiously at the thought of never getting to see the promise land or earn his way working on the harbor.

_Come on, turn... _But the ship still had not turned.

"Three." Tommy and Shannon each shed a tear at the fact that this was their last few seconds together. Or so they thought.

_Jesus...turn! _Murdoch's mouth dropped as he realized the ship was going to hit.

"Two." Carrick's hand tightened around the trigger, as Joseph's loosened.

_IT'S GONNA HIT! _One of the crew members standing at the bow ran for his life as the mighty ship loomed centimeters away from the icy surface.

"One." Without really thinking, Joseph threw his gun at his partner. It wouldn't solve the problem for long, but it stalled it at least. Carrick toppled to the floor, his eyes flashing furiously as he reached for his gun.

However, it was knocked out of his reach when a force shook the entire ship. Unbeknownst to the passengers, the RMS Titanic had collided with an iceberg.

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	26. The Shock Of It All

**A/N: Thanks to spikessweetgirl75 for reviewing and SarahAnneXXX for favoriting! :)**

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_The Shock Of It All_

"Bloody hell, man!" Carrick yelled, sliding across the floor to retrieve his pistol from underneath the night side table. He didn't know what his partner had been thinking, ruining their plan like that. "Fancy jail, do ye?" He glared furiously at him.

"I-I...er..." Joseph stuttered, stepping away from the bed a few inches. "I just realized that any passersby would hear the gunshot...an' our doors are broken down so anyone could come right in. I realized if we shot 'em, we'd actually get arrested faster," he lied.

He didn't dare mention the part about not wanting to murder his own flesh and blood. As much as he wanted to break away from his malicious partner, stand up to him even, he knew that doing so would escalate the situation for the worse. Carrick was dangerous, and he wouldn't hesitate to murder all three of them in a matter of seconds.

Carrick let out a maniacal laugh. "Of course! Ingenious of ye!" he roared, clapping his hands together. He could scarcely believe how foolish he'd been. His partner was actually right for a change.

On the bed, Tommy had managed to free his hands and was now untying his fiancé's. He didn't understand why his brother had chosen to help them instead of pulling the trigger, and actually felt a surge of guilt course through him for dismissing his brother's apologies. But it didn't last for long, as his anger crept back towards him for even putting them in such a dangerous situation.

"Shh, it's all right, sweet... we're going to be just fine now," he whispered soothingly to Shannon, who was still choking back tears.

"I-I thought...I'd n-never see ye again...or me family an' our friends...or Ireland...or America...an we'd never have our six wee babies..." She wept quietly into his soft shirt.

She could scarcely believe what had almost just happened. How her life could have ended in a matter of seconds, yet there she was, still alive. She silently thanked God for whatever he sent to save them, and tried to block out the disturbing thoughts of never experiencing her future with Tommy or seeing her homeland, family, and friends ever again.

"I know, I know that was horrible an' scary, but it's all over now...we're still alive, and we'll be together fer an eternity," Tommy promised, planting a soft kiss on her lips.

He too was greatly disturbed by the whole thing, by the fact that his life nearly ended a mere two minutes ago, and he muttered a prayer of thanks to God and his angels for sparing them. He couldn't imagine not getting to explore the promise land or having a future with Shannon, and never seeing his family and friends and homeland ever again. However, it was important to him to comfort his fiancé first, as she was clearly the more distressed of them both.

"How long is t-that?" Shannon whimpered, kissing him back. She couldn't bear the thought of being without the love of her life for even a day.

"At least another seventy somethin' years or so here in this world, I swear to ye," Tommy replied soothingly.

"What happens after that?" Shannon whispered softly.

"We'll be together forever in Tír na nÓg, a' course." Tommy flashed her a wily smirk and pulled her closer.

"The Land of Eternal Youth." Shannon let out a soft giggle and snuggled against him.

They both remembered being told stories of the magical land known as Tír na nÓg when they were children. It was a place in ancient Celtic mythology of eternal happiness, health, and beauty, and where a hundred years went by in a day. That was their believed Heaven.

Joseph shifted nervously on his feet as he eyed his partner, waiting to see what he'd do next. "So... I wonder what that shudder was," he mused coolly.

Carrick scratched his chin and set his gun down on the night side table. "Dunno... but I think I hear people out an' about in the hallways, prob'ly wonderin' the same thing," he commented.

Suddenly, the voices in the hallway got louder as they came closer. Several stewards were popping in and out of the rooms, telling the first class passengers to put lifebelts on.

"Mr. Ryan?" a voice called from the doorway. "Is everything all right in here?" a brown-haired steward asked, entering the parlor room.

"Fine! I'm fine, yes, thank ye," Joseph answered, scurrying out of his bedroom and shutting the door so the steward couldn't see that he had three other people in there.

"I've come to tell you that the shudder you felt isn't anything to worry about yet, the ship scraped against an iceberg and likely threw a propeller blade," a brown-haired steward said calmly.

"That was one hell of a shudder, are ye sure it's not serious?" Joseph asked curiously.

"You can go and check it out if you'd like, Mr. Ryan. We've stopped the ship and there's still passengers out on deck looking at it," the steward replied.

"Er...thank ye," Joseph said with a small nod.

"Of course, Sir." The steward walked out of the cabin to check on more passengers.

Joseph quickly ran back towards his bedroom door, just as Carrick opened it. He looked at his partner suspiciously. "What the bloody hell is goin' on?" he demanded, crossing his arms.

His partner merely shrugged. "I think we should go up on deck, apparently the ship hit an iceberg," Joseph explained, brushing past him and opening his bedroom door. He walked over to his closet and grabbed his warmest coat off of a hanger.

"And what the hell are we supposed to do with these two?" Carrick cocked an eyebrow, an edge of agitation in his voice as he nodded towards the Irish sweethearts.

"We'll finish 'em later, come on, I think somethin' serious is goin' on..." Joseph replied, quickly fastening the buttons on his coat.

Carrick glared at the couple on the bed. "Don't even think this is over, ye two, we'll come back fer ye... there's no way in hell yer escapin' this one," he threatened through clenched teeth, stalking out of the room.

Once he'd left, Joseph looked at his brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law. "Believe me when I say this, it's in yer best interest 'ta trust me," he said.

He had no intentions of harming them, and was scared of the horrific scheme his partner was probably cooking up in his mind right then as he walked back to his own cabin. "I think somethin' serious is goin' on, so yer safe from us fer now...take advantage of it, and take that how ye will."

The Irish sweethearts hopped off the bed. "We're goin' back down 'ta third class now, an if ye even think yer gonna come lookin' fer us...ye got another thing coming..." Tommy grumbled, pushing past his elder brother as he stormed out of the room, his fiancé close behind him.

Joseph watched them go and sighed. "Oh how I wish he'd learn to trust me... I just bloody saved their lives fer God's sake," he muttered, shaking his head.

...

Being in the bedroom, the Irish sweethearts hadn't heard Joseph telling Carrick about the ship hitting an iceberg, and thus hadn't the slightest idea what exactly was going on. All they knew was that they'd felt a ship-shaking shudder and that something serious might be going on.

"I don't know what the bloody hell is goin' on, come on, let's get back 'ta our cabin," Tommy said, rushing down the stairs from F deck to G deck.

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph... it's flooded down here!" Shannon squeaked as she stepped down onto the hallway floor with a splash.

"The ship must've hit one a' those icebergs," Tommy mused, shaking his head. "We better get our things before they're too soaked," he decided.

"Look, everyone's grabbin' their things, this looks bad," Shannon commented, nodding towards some other people who were running towards the stairs from their cabins with their sacks full of personal belongings.

They quickly scurried back to their cabin, which luckily wasn't on the flooded side of the ship, to grab their suitcase. Upon opening the door, they were met by Mr. and Mrs. Hannigan, who were rushing around in their pajamas as they did the same.

Mick ran a hand through his disheveled dark brown hair as he picked up his uileann pipes. "These have been in me family since me great grandda was a boy, can't go gettin' these all wet," he told them.

Brenna scowled as she threw the book she'd been reading into their suitcase. "I swear, whatever the hell's goin' on, we better get our money back... me husband worked his arse off fer these tickets, an' if the ship's gonna crash inta' somethin' an' flood... they better not make us pay," she grumbled to herself.

"The ocean is littered with icebergs this time a' year, I'll bet they hit one a' those... but I don't know how serious the damage is yet," Tommy said, grabbing their suitcase from underneath the bed. He checked the time on his grandfather's old pocket watch. It was 11:58, two minutes til midnight.

"Considerin' half this deck is flooded, I'd say it's fairly serious," Shannon added, quickly changing out of her nightdress and back into her skirt and blouse. She pinned her hair back up in a bun as well.

On some sort of gut feeling, she took her mother's necklace out of the suitcase and put it in her skirt pocket instead. Something was telling her that if she somehow lost the suitcase, at least the necklace would remain in her possession. She knew she could live without her diary, but the necklace had been a special gift from her mother; the last thing she'd given her before she boarded the Titanic.

Looking at Tommy, she nodded towards his grandfather's watch. "Put that in yer pocket, in case we lose the suitcase," she whispered.

"Why would we lose the suitcase?" Tommy looked confused.

"Just do it," Shannon huffed. "Does everything have 'ta be a question with ye?" she asked.

"Fine, fine," Tommy agreed. "I was only wonderin', Jaysus," he said as he put the watch in his pocket and locked up their suitcase.

Once they had all of their belongings, they shuffled out of the room behind Mr. and Mrs. Hannigan, shutting the door behind them. All around that side of the deck, couples and families were rushing around with their things as they made their way to the stairs.

Everyone seemed to know that whatever was going on, they needed to get up to a higher deck, as several of the single men were talking about how their side of the deck was flooded.

"I'm worried, Tommy," Shannon whimpered, clutching her fiancé's arm tightly.

"Don't be, Shanny, not yet," Tommy whispered, wrapping his arm around his fiancé's waist. "Come on, we need 'ta find Jack, he'll know what the hell is goin' on around here," he said.

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	27. Steerage Confusion

**A/N: Thanks to spikessweetgirl75 and the Guest reviewer for your feedback, and to CaleoRipple and i dodger for following and favoriting! ;)**

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_Steerage Confusion_

_Monday, April 15th, 1912._

The Irish sweethearts followed the chain of steerage passengers up the stairs to F deck. Many mothers and fathers were scolding their small children to keep up, couples held each other tightly, and singles milled about in a state of confusion. No one knew what was happening, and everyone was worried.

They all wanted to get up to the boat deck to see what was going on, but as they approached the staircase that led up to E deck from F deck, they realized that their path was blocked by a locked gate. The bright lighting shone against the white walls of the hallway, flickering slightly for a second before becoming even brighter.

Tommy turned to look into his fiancé's tear-filled blue eyes. "It's gonna be all right, sweet. They'll open up the gate fer us," he whispered soothingly.

Shannon looked back into her fiancé's wide and alert hazel eyes. "Why is it locked, love?" she whispered back worriedly.

"I don't know, sweet, but we'll find our friends and figure out what the hell is goin' on," Tommy promised, planting a soft kiss on the side of her face.

"I hope everything is all right, love," Shannon said, snuggling into his strong chest.

Mr. and Mrs. Hannigan walked over next to them and leaned against the wall. They too appeared to be fairly concerned about the whole situation. It was the first time that Tommy and Shannon had seen them holding each other.

Mick patted his wife's shoulder. "Come on, let's go find one a' them stewards an' find out what all this ruckus is about," he decided. He knew that it was best to find out what was going on as soon as possible instead of waiting until it was too late.

"Eye, an we'll tell 'em we want our money back too if that whole bottom deck is floodin'..." Brenna huffed in agreement as she followed her husband down the hallway. She was furious that after all the money they'd spent on their tickets, the supposedly flawless crew had somehow managed to let water get into the ship.

Passengers were whispering to each other and many speculated upon some sort of collision. There were no stewards in sight yet to open up the gate, and they began to worry more and more by the second.

Everyone knew the ship was unsinkable, but the fact that the bottom deck was flooding, made them start to doubt that. No one wanted to be stranded out in the middle of the freezing Northern Atlantic.

"Hey, don't ye cry, me sweet princess," Tommy whispered, realizing that his fiancé was once again softly weeping into his shirt. He held her close to him and planted soft kisses on the side of her face. "I swear to ye, we're fine, we'll be just fine," he promised as he soothingly rubbed her back.

"Don't let go a' me, yer me strong prince an ye make me f-feel safe," Shannon sobbed, feeling safe in her fiancé's strong arms. "I-I feel safer with ye holdin' me..." she sniffled, burying her face in his soft shirt. The smell of the sea and the fresh baked bread that was locked in the fabric always comforted her and reminded her of home.

"I know, I won't let go," Tommy said, gently rubbing his nose against hers.

"Thank ye," Shannon sniffled, planting a soft kiss on his lips.

Across the hall, Rory watched as his elder sister cried into Tommy Ryan's shirt, and decided that it was finally time to make his move. As for all he knew, it could very well be his last chance to talk to her.

He slowly made his way through the crowd and then threw himself into her long teal skirt. "Shannon!" he yelled, immediately bursting into tears himself as his own fear and homesickness took over. After days of seeing her but not speaking to her, of missing his family and his homeland all alone, and now of worrying about the big shudder and the flooded bottom deck, he just let his feelings go all over the soft teal fabric.

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph... Rory Shane O'Neal, what in God's name are ye doin' here?" Shannon screamed, startled as she knelt down and roughly grabbed her younger brother's shoulders. She slapped him gently and then buried her face in his shirt and sobbed. She could scarcely believe that her precious baby brother, her own flesh and blood, had followed them onto the ship. She'd missed him so much in the past few days, and now that she knew he was on the ship...the same ship that was now flooding, she couldn't stop her flow of tears.

She flashed back to right before she'd left for Cork Harbor with Tommy, to the last time she'd seen her brother as she walked out the door of the old, tiny O'Neal cottage in Dunfanaghy, County Donegal. She remembered the look on his face, and now realized that it was different from the look that had been on her sister's face... there had been something else in his eyes.

It wasn't until now that she realized what that something else had been: the fact that he'd planned to follow them. She didn't know how he'd managed to get a ticket so last minute, and wondered if he'd somehow snuck onto the ship illegally as a stowaway. Whatever the circumstances, she was irate that he'd been so sneaky, yet also overjoyed to have him by her side once again.

"I'm afraid, Shannon," Rory whimpered, holding his left cheek where she'd smacked him.

"What the hell are ye doin' on the ship?" Shannon repeated as she choked back tears. Her eyes were blood-shot and her face was beet red. "Do mam and da even know yer here?" she demanded sternly. She could only imagine their reactions when they realized that their youngest child was missing.

"N-No," Rory sniffled. "I-I snuck onto the ship 'ta follow you and Tommy 'ta America," he admitted, looking at his feet in shame. He knew he was in trouble, but at that point in time, he didn't really care.

"Damnit, Rory!" Shannon huffed, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. "Why did ye do that?" she prodded furiously. She was worried enough already for hers and Tommy's safety, and now her anxiety was a hundred and fifty times worse knowing that her precious baby brother was in potential danger too.

"B-Because I love ye, Shannon!" Rory yelled, sobbing furiously into her blouse. "I love ye so much, yer me favorite sister, an' I wanted 'ta see the promise land too!" he snapped harshly. He hated that his favorite elder sister was yelling at him, as he was afraid enough as it was, and all he wanted was for her to hold him and never let go.

"Oh, I'm not mad at ye, Rory... I'm just so scared too," Shannon wept, hugging her brother close. She'd always been extremely protective of him, and she now felt responsible for keeping him safe if anything were to happen to the ship. Especially since their mother and father had no idea where he was.

"What's happening? What was that shudder? Is the ship gonna sink?" Rory sobbed in complete and utter horror. He'd heard countless rumors as the other passengers whispered amongst themselves about the ship hitting an iceberg and flooding, and people saying _"I knew there's no such thing as an unsinkable ship!" _

"Shh, it's all right, boyo...calm yerself," Tommy interjected, kneeling down on the floor and pulling both of the O'Neal siblings into a warm embrace. "We'll all be just fine, yer sister loves ye, and I'm gonna keep both of ye safe. I swear it," he promised them.

He thought it was rather funny that the young boy had snuck onto the ship, and figured they'd have to deal with that fact at some point, but now was not the time for that. Now they had much more serious matters to worry about. He hated seeing the girl he loved and her younger brother so utterly miserable and anxiety-ridden, and knew he had to be the strong one for both of their sakes.

Shannon buried her face in her fiancé's shirt again. "And you too?" she pleaded him. She knew that he'd never hesitate to risk himself to save another, and wanted to make sure that he would take care of himself too if the ship were to go down. She couldn't live without him. She wouldn't live without him.

Tommy nodded and kissed his fiancé softly. "Of course," he told her. He had every intention of keeping the three of them safe and out of harm's way, no matter the circumstances.

"So all three of us will be all right?" Rory asked for clarification, still looking incredibly afraid. He'd been having the same dream over and over for the past few nights about what their life in Chicago would be like, and he didn't want anything to get in the way of that. _He worked on a street corner, selling newspapers or bread loaves, while Tommy worked down on the harbor with the boats to bring home his pay and support their new little family. His sister was pregnant with their first baby and she stayed home all day cooking and cleaning, waiting for her favorite boys to get back..._

"Eye, we'll be amazing, boyo," Tommy confirmed, interrupting his thoughts. There was a faint smile forming on his face. "And ye know why, don't ye?" he asked with a prideful twinkle in his eyes.

"Why?" Rory asked curiously. He'd always looked up to Tommy, as he'd practically idolized him ever since he was a toddler, and found himself constantly soaking up every word the man said.

"'Cause we're Irish." Tommy grinned as he kissed Shannon and put a comforting arm around Rory. "We'll be just fine, no matter what happens, and when this is all over we'll go 'ta Chicago an' find a nice, wee flat 'ta settle down in... I'll get me'self a job workin' on the harbor, an' very soon...folks will start callin' ye uncle Rory," he added, sharing another kiss with Shannon.

Suddenly, they heard rushing footsteps, and someone smacked directly into them. It was Fabrizio, beet red in the face and clutching his chest as he struggled to catch his breath.

Tommy immediately pulled the wheezing Italian into their embrace. "Fabri!" he yelled, relieved to see that his friend was all right.

Fabrizio held up his hand as he caught his breath. "You seen Helga? Or Jack?" he wanted to know, a worried edge in his voice.

"No, we haven't... Jack wasn't with ye?" Tommy cocked a confused eyebrow. He hadn't seen their blonde artist friend since he'd helped him sneak up to first class.

"No, he is a' somewhere else, an' I worried for mio dolce Helga too," Fabrizio explained quickly, leaning against the wall. Even though it had only been a few days, it was safe to say that he was madly in love with the young Norwegian girl...to the point of obsession, and he would hate himself forever if he let anything happen to her.

"Well come on, let's go an' check the other side... this gate's been locked fer the past ten minutes," Tommy decided, gently taking his fiancé's hand as she took her brother's. "That's Shan's brother, Rory, by the way. He snuck onto the ship," he explained as an afterthought as all three of them rushed down the long and crowded corridor.

...

Joseph and Carrick hurried back inside after standing on deck to check out the giant iceberg. "That was a big chunk a' ice, that was," the latter breathed, wide-eyed.

His partner nodded. "Eye, it was... I told ye something serious is goin' on," he replied.

"What about yer wee brother an' his girly?" Carrick wanted to know as they walked down the hall towards their respective cabins.

"I told ye already, they're the least a' me worries right now," Joseph snapped, pushing past his partner and rushing through the door into his bedroom.

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	28. Don't Panic Yet

**A/N: Thanks to spikessweetgirl75 and the Guest reviewer for your feedback!**

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_Don't Panic Yet_

With the help of Mr. Thomas Andrews, the ship's architect, Captain EJ Smith and his officers as well as the ship's designer, Mr. Bruce Ismay, had found out that the unsinkable ship would in fact end up at the bottom of the Northern Atlantic in less than two hours. Captain Smith had then ordered all of the stewards to have all passengers put on lifebelts, and the crew to start loading the lifeboats with first class passengers.

Joseph paced back and forth in his suite room in a poor attempt at taming his anxiety while he waited to find out what was happening. He'd seen the iceberg and he'd felt the collision, and there was a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that something very bad was about to happen.

He thought back to the last time he'd felt this way. It had been fifteen years, but he remembered it as if it were just the other day. He'd been out fishing with his father, younger brother, and uncle in the off the shore near their village. Suddenly, a feeling of dread had washed over him and he'd noticed something very large coming towards them out of the corner of his eye.

It was a giant wave, and he'd screamed at his father to turn the boat, but it had been too late. The wave crashed over them and drowned his poor uncle in mere seconds and his six year old brother ended up with a nasty scar on his shoulder from a piece of wood off their boat.

Not a day went by that he didn't miss his uncle Padraig, and Tommy still had the scar on his shoulder. He remembered his younger brother telling Shannon the story of the giant wave tipping over their boat when she'd asked how he'd gotten his scar. It had been during the summer before he'd left with Billy O'Roarke, and he'd never forget that no matter how many times he fought and disagreed with his brother, that would always be the one memory they had in common.

Just then, the same steward that had come in before, barged right in without knocking and interrupted his flashback. There was a look of panic in his eyes, but his tone was calm. "Mr. Ryan, I've been instructed by the Captain to have you put on your lifebelt and go up to the boat deck immediately," he said.

"What's going on?" Joseph asked him worriedly, looking over his shoulder as he went into his bedroom and grabbed a lifebelt out of the closet.

"It's likely just a precaution, please dress warmly, it is freezing out there," the steward replied quickly, rushing out of the room to inform more passengers of the orders.

Joseph watched him go as he pulled his lifebelt on over his head. He wanted find his partner and get up to the boat deck as soon as possible because he doubted whatever was going on was just a precaution. The look in the steward's eyes had told him everything he needed to know; they were just lying to keep the passengers calm, but something was seriously wrong.

Just then, Carrick walked into the room, interrupting his thoughts. He smirked and crossed his arms. "It's on backwards, ye eejit," he mocked him.

Joseph scowled as he reversed the lifebelt. "I knew that, ye prick," he snapped back.

Typically he would have said more in response to his partner's malicious teasing, but right now he had much more than Carrick on his mind. He was genuinely worried about the collision with the iceberg. _What if the unsinkable ship wasn't so unsinkable after all?_

"Well come on then, let's get up to the boat deck...Captain's orders, eye?" Carrick nodded towards the door, adjusting his top hat and bowtie as he walked into the hallway.

"Eye, let's go," Joseph agreed, following his partner out of his room and closing the door behind them.

...

"Everyone up! Put your lifebelts on!" Several stewards were rushing up and down the crowded steerage hallways, checking the cabins to make sure all the passengers were awake and ordering them to put on their lifebelts. Other stewards were handing out lifebelts to the passengers who were already up and about in the halls.

"What's the ruckus?" Mr. Hannigan demanded, sleepily staggering towards a blonde-haired steward. His wife stood by his side, a sour expression across her face.

"Just put your lifebelts on!" the steward snapped, pushing past them in a hurry.

Mrs. Hannigan huffed at his lack of hospitality. "I'm tellin' ye, Micky... we'd better get our money back if this damn ship floods," she muttered.

Mr. Hannigan nodded in agreement. "Eye, come on, Brenna, let's go back an' get our things by the stairs... see if that gate's opened up yet," he said.

On the other side of the ship, Fabrizio followed Tommy, Shannon, and Rory through the crowded hallways in search of their friends. All around them, passengers clustered together as they lined the walls, and stewards rushed past with armfuls of lifebelts as they yelled out orders.

"I a' hope we find 'dem soon," Fabrizio commented, a worried edge in his voice.

"Don't worry, boyo, it's gonna be fine," Tommy reassured him as he barrelled through the crowd.

He had every intention of keeping himself and those he cared about safe and out of harm's way, no matter what happened. Whatever was going on, wasn't going to ruin his trip to the United States. He was a proud and stubborn Irishman, as proud and stubborn as they came.

Up in the wireless room, Captain Smith had just given the Marconi operators an order to send out the CQD distress call, and to tell any responding ships that Titanic was going down by the head and needed immediate assistance.

This had shocked Jack Phillips, who then went to work immediately. "Blimey," he breathed.

"Maybe we should try that new distress call, SOS?" Harold Bride suggested. "It might be our only chance to use it," he added in response to his partner's skeptical look.

"All right," Jack Phillips agreed with a nod.

...

Mr. Thomas Andrews walked into the first class lounge area, where the entirety of the first class were chattering amongst themselves, having drinks, and listening to the band play a slow waltz. He'd just been informed by Chief Officer Wilde that the boat deck was too cold and noisy for them, so they'd all gone back inside.

Joseph, who was talking to his partner near the windows, grabbed the architect's arm. "Mr. Andrews, I was wondering if you could tell us what's happening?" he asked worriedly.

Carrick nodded. "Eye, why're we all gathered here?" he wanted to know. "It's past me bedtime."

Mr. Andrews let out a miserable sigh and pulled the two Irishmen aside. "The iceberg... we hit an iceberg, and it flooded five of the ship's compartments," he started, scratching his left ear. "Titanic can stay afloat with the first four compartments breach, but not five..." he said.

"Wait, yer sayin' the ship's gonna sink?" Carrick spluttered, his eyes widening in disbelief.

"Eye, I'm afraid so. Please, tell only who ye must... I don't want to be responsible for a panic," Mr. Andrews replied under his breath as he glanced around the room nervously.

"How much time do we have?" Joseph interjected. He could feel himself shaking where he stood. _I knew there was something wrong when I felt that shudder, then saw the iceberg...and just when I decide to turn my life around, I find myself in peril..._

"In an hour, all of this will be at the bottom of the Atlantic," Mr. Andrews answered solemnly. "Please tell no one, and I'm sorry I didn't build ye a stronger ship, gentlemen." With those final words, he strided off in the opposite direction.

The two young Irishmen exchanged shocked glances. "Jaysus... but the ship is unsinkable..." Carrick breathed, looking out the window where the lifeboats were being prepared.

Joseph shook his head. "Apparently it isn't..." he said, also looking out the window.

Outside, the officers and crew members were scrambling to prepare the lifeboats. The higher officers were shouting orders to their lower colleagues as all of them worked diligently at their common task. They needed to launch the boats as quickly as possible since they only had one hour and over two thousand passengers to try to save.

Captain Smith walked out onto the deck and looked around to make sure his officers and crew were doing what he'd ordered them to do. He couldn't believe that on his final crossing, the unthinkable had happened; the unsinkable RMS Titanic was going to founder.

"Sir! Sir!" He turned around to see Marconi Operator Harold Bride rushing towards him with a message in his hand. "The Carpathia can be here in seventeen knots, that's full steam for them, Sir!" he panted.

"She's the only one who's responding?" Captain Smith's eyes widened. He had assumed that they would have been able to contact more ships.

"The only one close, Sir... says they can be here in four hours," Bride answered, out of breath.

Captain Smith's eyes widened even more. "Four hours?" he exclaimed. His face fell at the realization that help would come three hours too late. "Thank you, Bride." Harold Bride nodded and rushed off back to the wireless room.

The Captain shook his head. "My God..." he muttered. He continued along the deck, where he was stopped by Second Officer Lightholler, who suggested that the ladies and the children should be put into the lifeboats first. He agreed, a bit distracted, and Lightholler proceeded to give the 'no men' order to a crowd of first class passengers who were waiting to board the boats.

...

Stewards were shouting as they handed out lifebelts to the scared and confused third class passengers who lined the lower deck hallways. "Put your lifebelts on! Here, put your lifebelts on!"

Tommy, Shannon, Rory, and Fabrizio pushed through the crowds, grabbing lifebelts from a passing steward as they approached another stairwell with a locked gate. They could see that several passengers were gathered around as there were at the other stairwell.

However, this time, there were stewards on the other side of the gate. They were telling the passengers that it wasn't time to go up to the lifeboats yet and ordering all of the men to go to the back of the crowd.

"What boats, Shannon?" Rory asked his elder sister worriedly.

"I don't know, Rory, shh." Shannon pulled her younger brother close.

"Is the ship sinking?" Rory demanded, his eyes widening as they filled up with tears. He was so afraid that he'd never end up seeing the promise land after all because he'd drown in a big gush of water at any second. He had no idea what exactly was happening and he was afraid for his life.

"I don't know!" Shannon snapped, her own eyes filling with tears. She put her fist in her mouth and bit down hard as she felt her fiancé's strong arms wrapping around her waist. Once again overwhelmed with extreme anxiety, she buried her face in his soft shirt and wept softly.

She had no idea what exactly was happening either, and was scared still at the thought of the mighty Titanic sinking right out from under them. They had to make it to America. They had to. She had so many hopes and dreams to live out yet and couldn't stop crying as she thought of them being sucked deep down into the freezing ocean along with their young lives.

After just barely escaping a bullet in their heads, they were thrown right into another potentially perilous situation. All she wanted was to reach the promise land safely, have their wedding, and start making babies as soon as possible. She didn't want all of the stress and drama. She couldn't handle it anymore.

"I heard people talkin' about it as we were walkin' through the halls, I think the stewards were sayin' it. The ship is sinking, but there's lifeboats, so we're just waitin' here until they let us up," Tommy explained calmly, pulling his young soon-to-be brother-in-law into their embrace. Even though he was scared still like the rest of them, he knew he had to be the strong one for their sakes. Besides, he'd heard that they were just waiting on lifeboats, and figured that they would get off the ship safely in just a little while.

"IT IS?" Rory wailed into his sister's armpit. "Oh Jaysus, no..." he sniffled as his sister kissed the top of his head. He felt as if his entire world were crashing down around him at the realization. His worst fears were coming true. _My life can't end like this... I'm only twelve..._

"Shh, don't ye worry, I'm gonna take care of us," Tommy soothed the O'Neal siblings. "We're going to be fine, we're just waiting until they let us up... it should only be a few more minutes," he said quietly. There was no doubt in his mind that no matter what happened, he could find a way to keep all three of them out of harm's way.

He looked over to see Fabrizio comforting his Norwegian sweetheart, who was standing near a wall with her parents. Her father didn't look too pleased at the embrace his daughter was in, but he didn't say anything due to the circumstances.

Looking back at his fiancé, he said, "I'm gonna get a bit closer 'ta see what's goin' on."

Shannon merely nodded. "Eye, go ahead," she sniffled, grabbing her brother and leading him over towards the wall while her fiancé pushed his way through the crowd towards the stairs.

"I'm a' still so worried for ragazzo mio, Jack, but at least I find bella Helga," Fabrizio said, looking up.

"I'm sure ye'll find him soon, he's probably tryin' 'ta find his own sweetheart," Shannon replied, trying to reassure him.

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	29. Waiting and Praying

**A/N: Thanks spikessweetgirl75 for your feedback! :)**

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_Waiting and Praying_

"They better open up those damn gates in the next few minutes or I swear..." Tommy muttered under his breath as he pushed his way closer to the front of the crowd to see what was going on. The stewards still refused to open the gate and were making all the men go to the back.

"Don't ye see, lad?" The man beside him piped up in a thick Scottish brogue. "They don't care about us down here...they're tryin' to contain us while they put all the first class people in boats, then maybe if they have enough time they'll let us up to safety...if it ain't too late."

Tommy clenched his fists. He'd left his beloved Ireland to come onto this ship and go to America so he could support his family, and now, he stood behind a locked gate as the ship continued to sink below them. He shook his head angrily. He was determined to get up to the boat deck one way or another, even if he had to get vicious.

Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned around to see his teary-eyed fiancé. There were tear streaks running down her face and she was sniffling uncontrollably. She looked utterly horrified at the idea of them sinking ever lower towards the freezing ocean while the stewards kept them locked down there.

"Come here, sweet," he said in a low whisper, pulling her close to him. "We're gonna be all right, I swear to ye, it's all going 'ta be fine," he soothed her.

"I'm just so afraid, love," she whimpered in reply, burying her face in his shirt. "First I was so scared about what our lives in Chicago would be like... but now we may never even get off the bloody ship!" she sobbed furiously.

"I know, Shanny." Tommy planted a soft kiss on her lips. "I know." He gently rubbed her back. He hated seeing her so upset, as it greatly upset him as well to see her suffering, and he wished more than anything that he could be of more comfort to her.

"I just want 'ta get off the ship, Tommy." Shannon wept quietly into his shirt. "I just want 'ta get married and make our six wee babies right away... I want 'ta see the promise land... I want 'ta see Ireland again in a few years... but none of that will ever happen if we don't get off the ship." She sniffled as she coughed into his shoulder.

"I want 'ta do all of those things too, sweet, and we will," Tommy reassured his distraught fiancé.

"How can ye be so sure, love?" Shannon asked, wondering how in the world her fiancé was so calm.

"Because I just am." Tommy kissed her softly again. He figured that there was no sense in arguing back and forth about who knew what, as it would just upset them even more. He thought it best to just hold and comfort his fiancé so that she could feel safe, and he could feel good about protecting her. Whatever was going to happen, would happen when it was the right time. All they had to do was wait.

...

Up on the boat deck, all of the first class passengers were gathered around waiting to board the lifeboats. Men were still not allowed yet but many tried to bribe the officers anyways and some managed to secure spots.

Joseph followed his partner up to a boat being prepared by Second Officer Lightholler. "Excuse me, I was wonderin' if there's any room fer two gentlemen?" Carrick asked in his most innocent voice.

Officer Lightholler shook his head. "No men at this time," he insisted sternly, pushing the young Irishman backwards.

"I can give ye a few priceless pieces of jewelry," Carrick offered pleadingly. He'd figured out that something serious was happening, and he wanted to get off the ship as quickly as possible. He needed to get to America, they had crimes to commit.

"I don't take bribes, Sir." Officer Lightholler huffed and turned away to help an elderly lady into the boat.

"Please...I-I have two children..." Carrick tried, only to be completely ignored. The second officer had caught onto his scheme.

He turned to his partner, a desperate look in his eyes. "Do somethin', Joey!" he begged.

Joseph shrugged his shoulders. "He won't listen to me either, come on, let's go...we'll think of something," he replied coolly.

With that, the two young Irishmen headed back inside the ship, where they stood across from each other next to a wall in the first class lounge. "Well I suppose we'd better go find that brother a yers," Carrick mused, an evil smirk forming on his face. If they couldn't be safe lifeboats, they may as well go looking to finish what they'd started, he thought.

"No... our safety is more important than trackin' them down. I heard the steerage section of the ship is already floodin', it would be foolish 'ta go down there now... we need 'ta figure out how 'ta save ourselves, an' if we happen 'ta see 'em... then we can finish 'em off," Joseph argued sternly. He was trying to distract his partner from going after his younger brother and future sister-in-law, but he had to make it seem like it was for their own good, otherwise he knew Carrick would never go for it.

"Fine... but ye better believe me when I say this; if we see 'em, we're gonna make 'em sorry... an' a sinkin' ship will be the least of their worries," Carrick hissed under his breath, pushing past Joseph to grab a glass of brandy from one of the stewards. He had every intention of tracking down the Irish sweethearts, as, he had no intention of going to jail if they told someone who was behind the O'Roarke's son's murder.

Joseph rolled his eyes and glanced out the window to watch more lifeboats being loaded and more distress flares being sent up. _Jesus, Mary, and Joseph...I have to survive this... if I don't... I know I'll end up in hell..._

He was terrified at the idea of not surviving the sinking because he doubted that his afterlife would be in a very good place. He had a strong feeling that God wasn't too happy with him, and he did not want to see hell yet. He desperately cleaved to atone for his sins so that he could be permitted to enter the Heavenly Kingdom as an old man. _Please, God, I'm not evil... I never really was... I'm just a lost soul who's made many poor choices... please spare me, God..._

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	30. Of Fear and Foolishness

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_Of Fear and Foolishness_

Carrick walked back up to his partner. "I have an idea," he started, sloshing his brandy around in the glass. "I'll bet if we go find a bunch a' priceless jewels an' wads a' money then those stubborn sonofabitches will let us on the boats."

Joseph shook his head with an eye roll. "Ye tried that an' they don't take bribes," he reminded his partner matter-of-factly.

"Eye, but I didn't actually have any of it with me. If they actually saw it they'd know I actually had it an' wasn't lyin' about havin' it," Carrick argued, a glint of insanity in his bright green eyes. "C'mon, Joey, we'll go get our stacks a' loot from our cabin an' then we can raid some a' the other cabins while everyone's down here!" he suggested.

"Fine, I suppose it's worth a shot," Joseph agreed, only somewhat reluctantly. "But if we get caught up there, Rick-o, I'm sayin' I don't know ye," he added, an edge of agitation in his voice.

"Ye bloody coward..." Carrick muttered with an eye roll. "C'mon, let's go."

With that, the two young Irishmen headed back towards Carrick's cabin to grab the loot they'd stolen from the cargo hold and Hockley's cabin. As much as Joseph wanted to be a good person again, desperate times called for desperate measures. If bribing the officers with stolen goods for a place in a lifeboat would keep him alive and out of hell one more day; he'd do it in a heartbeat.

...

Back down in steerage, the gates were still locked and the stewards were no more lenient than they had been twenty minutes ago. The RMS Titanic continued to sink lower and lower towards the freezing waters and the third class passengers were starting to panic even more.

Men kept trying to break through the gate, and the stewards kept shouting for them to get back and let their wives and children through first. Nothing had really changed in the past twenty or so minutes.

Tommy held his fiancé close to him. "I promise ye now, sweet, everything is gonna work out," he whispered soothingly.

Shannon sniffled against her fiancé's shirt. "Why aren't they lettin' the men up, love?" she whispered back worriedly.

"I don't know, Shanny, but I'm gonna get you an' Rory up closer so ye can get to a boat as quick as ye can," Tommy said quietly.

"No, Tommy, I won't go without ye... we're stayin' together no matter what happens. You, me, an' Rory..." Shannon sniffled softly.

"But, sweet, I need ye to be safe in a boat...they're lettin' ye up an' Rory can go too because he's only twelve. I'll be all right, I swear," Tommy insisted firmly. He refused to allow the love of his life to stay in such a dangerous situation. He knew that he couldn't and wouldn't live with himself if he let anything happen to her or her brother.

"I said no, love." Shannon shook her head. She refused to leave the love of her life. She knew that she needed him as she couldn't and wouldn't survive without him.

Tommy merely nodded. He knew better than to argue with her once she'd made up her mind. "All right... I'll keep ye safe if it's the last thing I ever do," he promised her, a solemn expression across his face.

Shannon shook her head again. "Don't ye dare say that to me, it better not be the last thing ye ever do, because I refuse 'ta survive this without ye," she hissed at him, a furious expression on her face.

"Calm yerself, me sweet girly, I promise 'ta keep all three of us safe no matter what... ye won't have to survive without me." Tommy had been a bit caught off guard by her angry tone, but he realized that he should've seen it coming after his choice of words.

"Good, because I don't know what I'd do without me charmin' boyo..." Shannon let out a soft giggle and snuggled into his shirt.

They both leaned in to share a passionate kiss. Tommy could almost taste her salty tears as her lips crashed against his. He wrapped a comforting arm around her waist and backed her into a corner on the side of the stairwell. Shannon continued to weep softly for the duration of their lip-lock but she seemed content enough in their embrace.

Suddenly, Rory scurried over and yanked on his elder sister's skirt. "I just felt the ship move," he whimpered, burying his face in the soft fabric.

Horrifying images of his lifeless self floating in the freezing ocean with hundreds of other third class passengers overcame him, and he broke down in shuddering sobs. _All I ever wanted was to see America...to be with my sister..._

Tommy squatted down on the floor and grabbed the young boy's shoulders. "Look me in the eye, boyo... there is nothin' 'ta fear," he whispered, patting him gently on the back. "I just told yer sister this; I'm gonna keep all three of us safe. We're gonna get 'ta the promise land...I swear to ye both," he added sincerely.

Shannon knelt beside her fiancé and younger brother. "He's tellin' the truth. I'm so scared too but he's going to make everythin' all right," she said, pulling them both into a tight hug. "Neither of ye let go, I need me boys right now," she whimpered, feeling safe in their embrace.

...

Joseph and Carrick were currently raiding the cabin of some large wealthy family. They had already gotten their sack full of stolen cash and jewels, and were now on a quest to find more of it as quickly as they could.

Suddenly, Joseph let out a triumphant shout, which startled his partner. "Look a' this opal, eh?" he asked, holding up a sparkling gem on a gold chain.

Carrick nodded with a wily smirk across his face. "Eye, that's probably worth more than both of us combined," he mused, snatching it from his partner to put in their bag of things to bribe the officers with.

"An' that pocket watch ye found, 't might be nicer than Hockley's..." Joseph commented with a grin. As much as he truly despised his partner, he knew it was important to work together this one last time, just to keep themselves alive. After all, he needed to be alive to protect his family.

"Eye, 'twas!" Carrick exclaimed with a prideful smirk. His eyes held a gleam of lust for wealth and power.

"Well come on, I think we've gutted this one...time 'ta move on before we get caught," Joseph interjected, suddenly realizing that they'd been in the same room for over fifteen minutes.

"Right. Let's go..." Carrick agreed, realizing that his partner was right.

Joseph nodded, grateful that their current mission was keeping his partner distracted from the other task on his mind; finishing off his younger brother and future sister-in-law for the information they held about the O'Roarke's son's murder.

...

Back down in third class, Tommy was still in his warm embrace with the O'Neal siblings. Glancing up at the locked gate where the stewards were still shouting at the scared and helpless passengers, fury began to overtake him; they were being treated like caged animals instead of living, breathing people.

Suddenly, Fabrizio walked over to them. "_Dio mio_ this is bad, I am a' thinking I go check an' a' see if there is any other ways outta here..." he said.

Tommy nodded his agreement. "That's a good idea, boyo...I'd go with ye but I'm sort of needed right now," he replied.

"I a' go now an' I let you know what I find out," Fabrizio told him, rushing off in the opposite direction after leaving his Norwegian sweetheart safe in the embrace of her father.

"Thank ye!" Tommy yelled after him, continuing to console his distraught fiancé and her younger brother.

Shannon sniffled again. "An' the worst part is...is half of us down here don't even know the ship's sinkin' yet...there's still people tryin' 'ta find their way up to the gates," she sobbed into her fiancé's soft shirt. "Poor, innocent people...why can't they care as much about us as they do those damn first class pigs?"

Tommy shook his head. "I don't know, I don't know... but I'm sure everythin' will turn out all right. I swear 'ta get us up to the boat deck...one way or another," he promised, kissing his fiancé softly. "I'll do whatever it takes 'ta get those limey bastards 'ta open up that gate."

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	31. Fury in Steerage

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_Fury In Steerage_

Joseph and Carrick had now raided half of the cabins in first class. In addition to what they'd already stolen from the cargo hold, they had made off with several priceless jewels, more stacks coins and wads of cash, and another pocket watch.

Carrick glanced at his partner. "Come on, I think we've got enough... we need 'ta make sure we can get a lifeboat before time runs out. Let's go see if we can't try to bribe one of the junior officers for a spot in a boat," he said, stuffing a sparkling ruby into his coat pocket.

Joseph nodded his agreement. "Eye, good thinking...let's go an' see," he said, grabbing a bottle of expensive cologne and spraying himself with it before putting it in their sack of loot.

The two young Irishmen quickly stole a few more jewels from the cabin they were in, and then rushed off towards the boat deck. It was even colder outside now and passengers huddled together on the deck. Officers shouted to one another as they continued to prepare and launch the lifeboats.

"Excuse me!" Carrick yelled, pushing through the crowd and tapping Fifth Officer Harold Lowe on the shoulder.

"What do you need, Sir?" Lowe yelled in reply, grabbing an elderly lady and putting her in the boat he was managing.

"I was hoping that my partner and I could have a seat in this boat?" Carrick tried with his best pleading look. Even though he was a malicious criminal, he still feared for his own life. After all, if he didn't survive, who would carry on his evil deeds?

"I am sorry, Sir. No men are permitted into boats at this time," Officer Lowe responded sternly.

"Wait, we have goods, and lots of them!" Joseph interjected quickly, showing the young officer their sack of loot.

"I do not take bribes, Sir!" Officer Lowe shouted furiously, pushing them backwards.

"Please, we could give you all of this, you'd be the richest man in the world!" Carrick shouted desperately.

"I DO NOT TAKE BRIBES!" Officer Lowe yelled back, turning away from them. "NOW GET BACK!"

He was infuriated at the number of first class men who thought that they could be guaranteed spots in boats just because they had money. He prided himself on fairness to all three classes of people, and was insulted that all of these wealthy men kept trying to bribe him. He would not stand for it.

Joseph hung his head. "Shite..." he muttered. "Now what?"

Carrick flashed his best evil smirk. "Now we go and find that wee brother of yers an' his girly-friend."

_Shite. _Joseph managed a weak smile. "I don't know if that's the best idea, Rick-o. I heard it's flooding down in third class because it's at the bottom of the ship...it wouldn't be safe to go down there," he said quickly.

_What an eejit. _Carrick rolled his eyes. "Ye bloody fool, we don't have to go down there 'ta find 'em. If it's floodin' down there, then they'll eventually have 'ta come back up here whether they want to or not...so all we've got to do is go back inside an' wait," he clarified exasperatedly.

"Er, right." Joseph nodded meekly. _Please, God, I know I'm a horrible criminal of a man... but spare me so I can save my family... _He thought to himself. He knew that his partner would do everything in his power to save himself, so he had to keep himself alive as well, otherwise there would be no one to stop his evil partner from shooting his little brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law.

"Yer not havin' second thoughts, are ye?" Carrick raised an eyebrow. _I swear if he starts to doubt our cause... I am completely ready to take all three of them with one swipe of my knife..._

"No, no of course not," Joseph stammered, shifting nervously on his feet. The look in his partner's bright green pools told him everything he needed to know.

"Good." Carrick nodded, coughing into his coat. He wasn't about to let his partner screw him over and he'd do whatever it took to make sure that he couldn't.

Joseph now realized what he had to do. He had to make it seem to his partner as if they shared a common cause, but in reality, he'd be double-crossing him at every turn in order to save his family.

...

Back down in third class, the gates were still locked, and the crowd of passengers were starting to get more and more riled up at the stubborn stewards who refused to unlock them. "GET BACK, I SAY!" yelled one steward as he pointed his gun at the furious crowd.

Shannon rested her head against her fiancé's strong chest. Her worst fear was the same as all of the other passengers. She just wanted to get off the ship and have her happily ever after, and she was horrified at the thought of them all ending up in the freezing water, never to see the promise land or their families ever again.

Tommy pressed his lips against his fiancé's tear-streaked face. God only knew how he tried so hard to remain strong and brave while his insides were lurching with fear and anxiety. On the outside he was doing what he felt like he had to do, but on the inside, he just wanted to go and cower in a dark corner.

"I'm s-so sc-scared, Tommy," Shannon sniffled into his shirt.

"I know, Shanny," Tommy whispered into her hair.

"What if we never make it to the promise land... never see our families back in Ireland ever again... never make our six wee babies that we want so much...?" Shannon wept miserably.

"Don't ye say that...we're goin' to do all of those things... we will make it to America... an' we'll go back to Ireland in a few years just as we planned...an we'll have our six wee babies that love us..." Tommy said soothingly.

"But it's impossible if we're trapped down here, just waitin' fer the freezing water to come an' swallow us whole!" Shannon snapped before bursting into tears again.

"Don't ye worry, we're not waitin' down here fer long," Tommy insisted as he slowly pushed himself closer to the front of the crowd.

Shannon wiped her eyes on the back of her hand. "Where are ye goin'?" she asked with another loud sniffle as tears continued to run freely down her face.

Tommy made the 'stay put' gesture with his hand. "I'm gonna get us outta here," he replied with an edge of confidence in his voice as he pushed several passengers out of his way.

Rory grabbed his elder sister's arm and buried his face in her blouse. "What's Tommy doin'?" he wanted to know.

Shannon shook her head as she pulled her younger brother close and rubbed his back. "Shh, I don't know," she whispered in reply.

Tommy asserted himself to the very front of the furious crowd that stood directly behind the gate, facing the stubborn stewards. "GET BACK!" the stewards were shouting as the pointed their guns at them.

"FER GOD'S SAKE, MAN! YE CAN'T KEEP US LOCKED DOWN HERE LIKE ANIMALS, THE SHIP'S BLOODY SINKIN'!" Tommy roared, absolutely infuriated. He had reached his boiling point. It was absurd to keep poor, innocent passengers trapped on a sinking ship.

"MEN GET BACK!" The stewards jammed their axes through the gate to contain all of the angry men. "BRING FORWARD YOUR WIVES AND CHILDREN!" one of the stewards ordered as another quickly opened the gate. Several of the ladies and children, and even a few men, managed to push through.

However, a handful of men suddenly tried to attack the stewards to get through themselves, which ruined the chances for the rest of the passengers trapped down there. "LOCK THE GATES! LOCK THE GATES!" the steward shouted, jamming his axe into one man's face as the other steward put the lock back on.

"LET US UP SO WE CAN HAVE A CHANCE!" Tommy yelled, shaking the gate desperately.

"GET BACK!" one of the stewards responded, pointing his gun at the furious Irishman.

Tommy had had enough. He pointed an angry finger at the stewards and then started his descent back towards the bottom of the stairs. He knew there was no use wasting time at that gate, so they would just have to find another way out.

Shannon held her little brother in a warm embrace at the bottom of the stairs. Suddenly, she heard someone yell her name, and spun around to see their artist friend with his first class lover. They were soaking wet and out of breath from running.

"Hey, Shannon!" Jack repeated, pointing up the stairs at the locked gate. "What's going on?" he asked worriedly.

"The gates are locked, Jack!" Shannon replied, choking back tears. "We can't get out and the ship is sinkin'," she added seriously.

"Yeah, the bottom decks are completely flooded, we've gotta get outta here," Jack agreed with a nod, gently rubbing his red-haired lover's back to keep her calm.

"Jack!" Tommy yelled as he reached the bottom of the long and crowded stairwell. He was relieved to see the blonde Wisconsin native, as he'd been worried about him.

"Tommy!" Jack shouted worriedly. "Can we get out?" he wanted to know.

"It's hopeless that way!" Tommy yelled, exasperated. He pulled his fiancé and soon-to-be brother-in-law close to him. "Those limey bastards refuse to open the gates," he added angrily.

"Jack!" Fabrizio interjected, rushing over to them to tell them some horrible news he'd found out about the lifeboats. They appeared to all be gone.

"Fabrizio!" Jack shouted, hugging his best friend tightly. He was so happy to see that his best friend was safe.

"The boats are all gone!" Fabrizio informed them, his warm hazel eyes wide in horror.

"This whole place is flooding, we've gotta get outta here," Jack argued sternly, his own seafoam pools wide and alert as he scanned the area. Rose clung tightly to his arm. "Let's go this way, all right?" he suggested, nodding in the opposite direction. "Come on."

Tommy nodded his agreement. "Eye, it's worth a shot," he said coolly. He kissed his fiancé softly as she buried her face in his shoulder.

Fabrizio grabbed his best friend's arm. "Wait, Jack, aspettare...aspettare!" he interjected suddenly, turning back towards the Dahl family, who were standing nearby.

They all looked to see that the Norwegians still weren't entirely sure what was going on. "Come on!" Jack urged, motioning for them to follow.

Olaf Dahl shook his head furiously. "Nei!" he shouted, holding his daughter close to him.

"Ship...it is sinking...all of you come now," Fabrizio pleaded. "We go to boats...we go in the boats...capito?" he pleaded desperately.

"Nei," Olaf replied angrily, still unsure of what the jittery Italian man was trying to say. He thought that he was asking to take his precious only daughter away from him.

Fabrizio turned to his girlfriend pleadingly. "Helga, _per favore_...you come with me now, is my destiny to go to America...please!"

He didn't know what he would do if he had to leave the love of his life behind because of her father's stubbornness. Didn't he understand that he was trying to save their lives? Even though he'd only known Helga for a few days, she was his everything.

Helga turned back to her father hopefully. "Kan vi go, Far?" she asked.

"NEI!" Olaf roared as he proceeded to cuss at the young man in Norwegian.

"PAPPA, JA!" Helga argued furiously as she broke out of his embrace and hugged her boyfriend. She didn't care what her father said, she knew something serious was going on, and she trusted Fabrizio to protect her.

Olaf's bright blue eyes seemed to flash from blue to red with fury. It was the first time she'd ever disobeyed him. He blamed Fabrizio for it of course, and continued to cuss at him until his wife grabbed his shoulder.

Johanne spoke softly to her husband in Norwegian before stepping away to join her daughter. "Kommer, Olaf," she said. She sort of understood what was happening and figured it was best to follow her daughter's friends, as they seemed to know what was going on.

Olaf grumbled to himself, but proceeded to follow them anyways. "Fint," he huffed. He was a stubborn man who was used to getting his way, so this was a new experience for him.

"All right, come on!" Jack interjected, motioning for all of them to follow him down one of the hallways.

"Right behind ye!" Tommy shouted as they all hurried to catch up with him.

...

Joseph and Carrick were drinking wine in the first class lounge, watching all of the commotion out on deck through one of the large glass windows. They could even see part of the iceberg over the side of the deck. It almost seemed as if it were mocking their misery.

"So I say we just stay here until they come to us, as, they will eventually," the latter repeated his plan.

"Mhmm." The former merely nodded as he sipped his glass of aged merlot.

* * *

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	32. The Brazen Refusal

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* * *

_The Brazen Refusal_

Down in steerage, it seemed as if most if not all of the gates were still locked as the group of friends rushed through the crowded, lit-up hallways. All around them, passengers of various religions were huddled together in prayer, and many were crying out of fear and panic.

Suddenly, Jack stopped in the middle of one of the hallways. He thought that it might be best to change direction because he had already been that way before and had no luck.

"COME ON!" Tommy yelled at him, nodding ahead. There was no time to waste.

"No come on, let's go this way," Jack told him, turning a corner. He hadn't been this way yet.

As they rushed up another stairwell, they were once again met with a locked gate and more stubborn stewards who refused to open it. "Just go back to the main stairwell and everything will be sorted out there," the stewards were saying.

Jack rushed to the front of the crowd and grabbed the iron bars. "Open the gate," he demanded boldly.

"Go back to the main stairwell," the steward responded sternly.

"Open the gate right now," Jack repeated through clenched teeth.

"Go back to the main stairwell like I told you!" the steward shouted angrily.

"GOD DAMMIT, SONOFABITCH!" Jack roared, proceeding to shake the gate furiously.

"STOP THAT!" the steward yelled, panicked.

The crowd that stood around the gate watched the blonde Wisconsin native glare angrily into the faces of the stubborn stewards. Everyone was horrified of what would happen if they remained locked down there.

Tommy was huddled in a warm embrace with Shannon and Rory at the back of the crowd. "It's going to be all right, we're going to get this gate open one way or another," he said in a low whisper.

Shannon nodded and buried her face in his soft shirt. "Please hurry then," she whimpered in reply.

Suddenly, Jack was rushing back out of the crowd. "Fabri, Tommy, gimme a hand!" he shouted to his friends, grabbing onto a nearby bench.

Knowing immediately what their friend was trying to do, both men rushed over to help him. Even Olaf Dahl and Mr. Hannigan offered to help them tear up the heavy bench. They were going to use it to break down the gate.

"To the side! Quickly, to the side!" Rose yelled at the crowd of scared passengers, to get them out of the way as the men held up the bench.

"Put that down!" The stewards shouted in horror, some running away from the scene altogether like the cowards they were.

"1...2...3!" The three men charged the gate once and almost broke through, but not quite.

There was only one steward left, who was screaming frantically for them to put the bench down. "STOP THAT!"

Jack clenched his teeth. "AGAIN!" They charged it again with all of their pent up anger, this time breaking through.

The one remaining steward was shouting furiously as the men helped their sweethearts over the broken gate and bench. Tommy, who was already far past his boiling point, proceeded to deck him right in the jaw and knock him out.

They all made their way up to the crowded boat deck, only to discover that there were no more boats on that side of the ship. The air was freezing and they could see smoke whenever they took a breath.

Rose rushed over to Colonel Archie Gracie, who stood nearby with a lady on each arm. "Colonel, are there any boats on that side?" she asked worriedly.

Gracie shook his head. "No, Miss, but there are a couple all the way forward!" he replied, pointing ahead. "Come on, I'll lead you..." he started, but they had already taken off.

They ran across the deck quickly as the solemn orchestra music filled the air. "Music to drown by, now I know I'm in first class," Tommy muttered, which earned him a sharp glare from his fiancé.

Upon reaching the stern side of the boat deck, they decided to split up and check both sides for boats. Jack and Rose stayed where they were, while the others went in the opposite direction.

...

Joseph happened to be looking out the window, when he swore he saw someone who looked just like his younger brother rushing past it. "Oh no..." he mumbled, accidentally catching his partner's attention.

Carrick raised a skeptical eyebrow as he took another sip of wine. "Something wrong?" he asked his partner curiously.

"Er...no, nothing... I just, er...spilled wine on my coat," Joseph stammered in reply, avoiding eye contact.

"Oh." Carrick shrugged and helped himself to a caviar cracker from a tray of appetizers that had been placed on the table in front of them.

Joseph breathed a sigh of relief. His partner still didn't know of his brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law's whereabouts. With that, he too grabbed a caviar cracker and shoved it into his mouth.

Carrick noticed this and let out a bitter chuckle. "Slow down, mate, ya don't want to choke before ya drown," he teased.

...

Near one of the last lifeboats being prepared by First Officer William Murdoch, Shannon watched as their Italian friend tried to coax his Norwegian sweetheart into the boat beside her mother. The no men rule still remained.

Fabrizio said, "Is okay, my sweet, I see you very soon...I swear it." He sniffled in the cold, as he hated to see his Norwegian sweetheart so upset.

"Nei, du kommer," Helga insisted, fighting back tears because her Italian lover wasn't allowed in the boat with her.

"I cannot go, sweet Helga, but we see each other in just a little while," Fabrizio whispered softly, kissing away a tear that had dripped down from her bright blue eyes.

"Du kommer, Fabrizio," Helga whimpered in reply, wrapping her arms around his neck and refusing to let go.

"Helga, per favore, go in the boat now... I mean it," Fabrizio told her sternly.

"Ja, Helga, now!" Mr. Dahl interjected, harshly breaking the couple apart and pushing his daughter into Murdoch's grip.

"Good, now stay there, no get up," Fabrizio instructed, backing away and blowing her a kiss.

Helga buried her face in her mother's shawl and wept softly. It hurt Fabrizio to see her that way, but he knew that she wouldn't be safe if she stayed with him. She was better off in the boat, and he swore to survive and find her on the rescue ship.

Shannon shook her head, fighting back tears herself as she thought of having to leave her fiancé behind. She knew that she couldn't, and wouldn't, do it. They had been together their entire lives, while the other couple had only known each other for a few days. She was too in love with him, and knew that she couldn't survive the heatbreak of knowing he didn't survive when she did.

She remembered the day she'd found out Tommy planned to leave for America, without telling her, and how angry she'd been at him. But when he'd tracked her down at the shore and agreed to take her with him, she had been the happiest girl in the world. Tommy was her world, her whole life, and she refused to be separated from him.

Officer Murdoch looked over at Shannon and her brother next. "Come on in the boat, Miss, an' the lad can go too," he said, snapping her out of her reverie.

Shannon's eyes welled with tears again as she threw her arms around her fiancé. "I won't go without ye," she sobbed into his soft shirt.

Tommy shook his head sternly and kissed his fiancé softly. "Ye need to get in the boat now," he whispered sternly.

"NO, TOMMY!" Shannon snapped angrily, slapping his shoulder. She refused to get in the boat without the love of her life.

"DAMMIT, SHANNY, GET IN THE FECKIN' BOAT!" Tommy roared, grabbing her wrists. He refused to let the love of his life stay in such a perilous situation.

"I SAID NO, LOVE!" Shannon pushed him away.

"I SAID YES, SWEET!" Tommy pulled her close.

Shannon sighed miserably and buried her face in his shirt again. Looking back up she said, "Thomas Christopher Ryan, if I get on that bloody boat, I may as well have stayed in Ireland. We are nothing if not together. I love ye and I can't live without ye. If you don't make it, there's no way I'll live much longer anyways...haven't ya ever heard of those old ladies passing away of broken hearts once their husbands are gone? I may not be very old, but there's no way I can survive a life without ye in it. I'd rather drown with ye than survive without ye," she insisted tearfully.

Now it was Tommy's eyes which were welling with warm tears. He responded by engaging her in a soft yet passionate kiss. "Shannon Maureen O'Neal, you are the most brazen girl I've ever met... and I love ye so much for it."

"I love ye, Tommy," Shannon wept quietly.

"I love ye more, Shanny," Tommy whispered back.

Shannon then turned to her little brother. "Eye, go in the boat now, Rory," she said, wiping her eyes and nose on the back of her hand.

Rory's eyes flew wide open in shocked fury at his elder sister's demand. "ARE YE BLOODY INSANE?" he shouted, rushing into their embrace.

"Come on, Rory, ye gotta go in the boat, boyo!" Tommy insisted, gently grabbing the young boy's shoulders. He couldn't let the child stay in danger, he was so young.

"Do ye think I'm gonna go if you two aren't goin'?" Rory spat furiously. "I'm stayin' with ye too, all three of us are goin' 'ta survive this together, lifeboats or not!"

Shannon sniffled as she choked back more tears. "Please, Rory, go in the boat," she pleaded. "Mam and Da don't even know yer here... they can't lose both of us," she whimpered.

Rory shook his head. "Then ye lied, Shannon! You an' Tommy both did! Why do I need 'ta be safe in a lifeboat when Tommy said he'd keep us safe no matter what, lifeboats or not?" he yelled angrily.

"I don't know, Rory!" Shannon snapped bitterly. "Just get in the damn boat, I'd feel better that way!"

"Eye, well maybe I'd feel better if YOU were in a boat, eh?" Rory shouted. "We're stayin' together, and like Tommy said... we're Irish fer God's sake, we'll be fine!" he insisted.

Shannon sniffled again and a small smile formed on her soft face. "Oh, Rory," she sobbed, collapsing into her little brother and pulling him into a tight hug. She was touched that her little brother loved her enough to put himself at risk just to stay with them.

Tommy hugged both of the O'Neal siblings and softly kissed his fiancé. "I promised ye once and I'll swear it again, I'm goin' 'ta keep all three of us safe. Eye, we are Irish, dammit," he whispered with a small grin.

By this time, the lifeboat was long gone, and Fabrizio was wavering in the cold nearby. Mr. Dahl had taken off somewhere once he'd realized no men were allowed in boats, and none of them had seen where he'd gone.

"Come, we find somewhere to go," Fabrizio interjected, his teeth chattering.

"Eye, good idea," Tommy agreed, slowly getting to his feet.

"I a' hope Jack an' Rose are safe," Fabrizio mused aloud.

"Eye, I'm sure they are," Tommy replied quickly.

He pulled Shannon close to him and kissed her softly again. "I just want ye to know that you are the best thing that's ever happened to me," he said, gently rubbing noses with her.

Shannon giggled softly and wrapped her arms around his neck. "And you are the best thing that's ever happened to me as well," she replied, planting a wet kiss on his nose.

"If the ship weren't sinkin' and we weren't tryin' to fight for our lives, I'd make love to ye right here," Tommy whispered with a wily smirk.

"Ye said it yerself that we'll get outta this mess, so ye can make as much love 'ta me as ye want on the rescue ship," Shannon whispered back with an airy giggle.

Fabrizio had had enough, as he was really starting to miss his own sweetheart. "Okay, we go now," he interrupted sternly. "Come, we find a way outta here."

Rory nodded his agreement. "Eye, yer really startin' to make me want to lose me breakfast, lunch, an' supper..." he said.

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	33. Forever and Always

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* * *

_Forever and Always_

They made their way back inside the ship and looked around worriedly. Now there was next to no chance of boarding a lifeboat and the ship was sinking ever lower towards the freezing ocean.

Shannon snuggled into her fiancé's soft shirt and smiled, completely content despite the perilous circumstances. "I don't know what I'd do without me Tommy-boy," she whispered.

Tommy flashed a wily grin as he hugged his fiancé close. "And I don't know what _I'd _do without me Shanny-girl," he whispered back.

Rory scowled at the both of them. "And I'm about to find out what I'll do without me breakfast, lunch, an' supper," he hissed, grossed out.

He was already absolutely horrified of being trapped on a sinking ship in the middle of the ocean, and the last thing he needed was to watch his elder sister and soon-to-be brother-in-law acting as if they were on their honeymoon.

Fabrizio nodded his agreement. "Sí a' me too," he said, shaking his head. Without his own sweetheart, the last thing he wanted to see was his friends making kissy faces at each other.

Suddenly, a voice called out to them from far away, "Hey! Over here!" They all turned to see Jack rushing towards them, red in the face and out of breath from the cold sea air outside on deck. His bright seafoam eyes widened in concern. "Shannon, why aren't you in a lifeboat?" he asked worriedly. He'd already put his own ginger goddess in a boat, and wondered why his Irish friend's better half was still on the ship.

"I couldn't leave me Tommy, he's me whole world," Shannon replied simply, planting soft kisses on her fiancé's face.

"Eye she's tellin' the truth, me Shanny really fought me over it," Tommy piped up, kissing his fiancé passionately on the lips.

"I think we need to come up with some sort of plan to survive this mess," Jack interjected. "Come on, let's go and see how long it'll be before they start letting men on the last boats," he suggested.

"Are ye bloody insane?" Tommy's eyes widened. "Boyo, there's hardly any boats left... unless ya got money 'ta bribe the officers with, there's no chance of men like us gettin' seats on a boat," he explained.

Jack nodded. "You're right, that was a stupid thing to say. I think it's best to stay on the ship as long as possible," he said.

Fabrizio raised an eyebrow. "An' then what happen?" he asked worriedly.

"I'm sure the boats will come back for us, or maybe the rescue ship will be here by then, but let's not worry about that right now," Jack replied quickly. "Let's change the subject," he added, feeling his stomach twisting with anxiety already just thinking about that freezing water.

"Eye, good idea, I'd rather not talk about this right now either," Tommy agreed, noticing how upset his fiancé and her little brother looked over the current conversation topic. "Don't ye worry, I'll keep us safe, I told ye," he whispered soothingly to them.

Fabrizio nodded quickly. "Sí, we change subject," he said, feeling his own stomach twisting in ways that it shouldn't.

Tommy snickered quietly. "Gettin' anxious, boyo?" he asked his jittery friend.

"Sí." Fabrizio glanced out the windows that looked out onto the deck and shuddered.

"You know, maybe we should find out how much time we've got before the ship goes under," Jack suggested nervously.

"Eye, that's probably a good idea, boyo," Tommy agreed with a nod.

They figured it would be beneficial to know when exactly the ship would go under, so that they would be ready for it. Being up in the first class part of the ship, it was hard to tell exactly how much time they had.

Suddenly, Shannon nodded over towards a sitting area where some men were having cigars and wine. "Don't look now, but there's yer brother..." she whispered nervously, pointing to a dark-haired man sitting across from a red-haired man.

"Oh shite," Tommy muttered, his eyes widening. "If they see us, they'll shoot us," he added nervously. He wasn't easily frightened, but he had to admit that that red-haired partner of his brother's was insane.

"Come on, let's go somewhere else," Shannon mumbled, shaking a bit. "If they can't see us, we'll be fine..." she said softly. She was terrified of being caught by the two criminals.

She was already worried about staying alive while the ship sank, and the fact that there were two malicious criminals after them, made her anxiety a hundred and fifty times worse.

"Wait, what's going on?" Jack interjected, leaning in so he could hear their hushed conversation.

"His brother and that partner of his are sort of..." Shannon started, twiddling her fingers nervously.

"After us." Tommy rubbed his face anxiously.

"Why?" Jack whispered curiously. He remembered how they had been spying on the two suspicious Irishmen, but hadn't been aware of them finding out any information yet.

"Because we found out that they _w__ere _in fact the ones who murdered me brother's old friend," Tommy whispered in reply.

"Are you serious?" Jack shook his head furiously. "What sort of people can take another person's life is beyond me," he muttered. He was a bit suprised at the news, but he couldn't deny that everything made perfect sense.

"I dunno, but I'd like to get outta here before they can take ours," Tommy said, pulling his fiancé close.

"Eye." Shannon nodded, snuggling into her fiancé's chest.

"All right." Jack managed a faint smile. "Fabri and I are gonna go check things out and we can all meet up back out on deck," he said.

"Eye, good idea, Jack-o." Tommy nodded his approval of their plan. "We'll go check things out on the opposite side, away from the madmen, and we'll meet ya on deck," he said.

Once their friends had walked away, Shannon planted a soft kiss on her fiancé's face. "I have an idea," she whispered, hugging him tightly.

Tommy gently rubbed noses with his fiancé. "Eye? An' what is that?" he asked in a low whisper, kissing her softly.

"Say we do end up in the water, I read in a book once about something called kinetic energy. It's the energy generated by movement, and if yer in extremely cold temperatures, if ye move around quickly it will take longer fer the cold to get to ye. So dependin' on how far away those last lifeboats are, maybe we could try an' swim to one, that way the kinetic energy of swimming will keep us warm enough to survive the distance, plus we'll be swimmin' fer our lives," Shannon explained matter-of-factly.

"Damn, yer smarter than me by a long-shot," Tommy laughed. "That's a hell of a good idea, we'll have 'ta tell Jack an' Fabri when we see 'em again."

A single tear had formed in his eyes at just how smart she was. She truly was his better half. She was his whole world and his whole life, and he kept swearing over and over again in his head to keep her and her little brother safe.

Shannon rolled her eyes. "Eye, if yer brother and his maniac of a partner don't bloody shoot us first, let's get out of this area," she hissed, pushing him behind a large statue.

Tommy nodded his head. "Eye, doesn't look like they see us yet...so let's hurry up an' get to the opposite side a' the deck," he whispered, pulling her close.

Rory hid behind his elder sister's skirt as the three of them slowly snuck across the room, luckily unnoticed by the two criminals that were after them. "Now what do we do?" he wanted to know.

"Let's find someone and see how long it'll be before this part of the ship floods," Tommy replied coolly.

"There's Mr. Andrews, the ship's architect," Shannon pointed out with a nod.

Over by the Grand Staircase, stood the jittery Irish shipbuilder, Mr. Thomas Andrews. He seemed to be frantically jotting things down in his notepad as he looked around nervously.

"Eye, let's go ask 'im." Tommy quickly shuffled over to the nervous-looking shipbuilder and tapped on his shoulder. "Excuse me, Sir."

Thomas Andrews turned to face him. "Can I help you?" he asked.

Shannon managed a faint smile. "We were wonderin' how much time there was before the ship goes under," she replied.

"About thirty or so minutes. Get to a boat quickly, Miss, there's hardly any left," Andrews told them before he scurried off up the stairs.

"Eye, there are still boats left, Shanny... I'm thinkin' you an' Rory best get in one," Tommy said in a low whisper as he wrapped a protective arm around his fiancé and her little brother.

"Do we need 'ta have this pointless argument again, Tommy?" Shannon snapped angrily as she buried her face in her fiancé's shirt. "I'm stayin' with you an' ye can't convince me otherwise," she added, fresh salty tears forming in her eyes.

"No, no, of course not..." Tommy said quickly, planting a soft kiss on her lips. "I'm sorry...we're in this together, forever an' always."

Shannon giggled softly, rubbing noses with him. "Forever and always."

Tommy flashed her a wily smirk. "Ye know somethin', Miss O'Neal?"

Shannon smiled slyly at him. "What is that, Mr. Ryan?"

Tommy grinned. "This is the first time we've seen the first class part of the ship," he mused happily. He figured he'd probably never get to see such luxury ever again, whether he survived or not, so he cherished the experience despite their perilous circumstances.

"Eye, an' if we don't get a move on, it'll be the last time we ever see anything," Rory interrupted, tapping his foot impatiently. "I dunno about ye lovebirds, but I'd like to get outta this mess," he added.

"Right, sorry." Tommy nodded with a sheepish smile.

"Let's go find the others." Shannon smiled faintly as she followed her favorite boys out on deck.

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	34. How To Survive

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_How To Survive_

Tommy, Shannon, and Rory ran back out onto the chaotic deck. They pushed their way through the thick crowds in search of their friends, so that they could tell them what they had found out from the ship's architect.

Suddenly, they saw them looking over a rail to see how far the ship was submerged. "Fabri, Jack!" Tommy yelled. "There's less than an hour before it completely goes under!"

The two men turned sharply on their heels, their eyes wide and alert. "Then we need to come up with some sort of plan to survive this," Jack shouted back. "Any ideas?"

Tommy nodded. "Eye. Shan had an idea, tell 'em, sweet," he said.

"Have ya ever heard of kinetic energy?" Shannon asked, stepping up to the rail.

"Yeah, it's the energy generated by movement," Jack replied, turning his head.

"So if ye do the math in yer head, by the time the ship goes under, the last of the lifeboats won't be too far away. All we've got to do is swim to them, eye the water may be freezing, but the kinetic energy of swimming for our lives will keep us warm enough to survive the distance to the lifeboats," Shannon explained matter-of-factly. "I read about it in a book once," she added for legitimacy.

She remembered about eight years ago, when she was ten years old, her father read her a science book. He was a wise man with a knack for storytelling, but one day, he decided to make their bedtime selection a bit more educational and he'd read to her about how energy works. She'd been absolutely fascinated by it, thus the memory stuck with her to this day.

Thinking about her father saddened her a bit, considering their circumstances, and she sniffled and snuggled closer to Tommy. She sent up a silent prayer to God that her plan would work and they would survive so that she could see her family again.

Jack looked at her. "That's not a half bad idea, I like it," he said, managing a faint smile.

He quickly did some calculations in his head and contemplated their plan carefully. He had to admit that it was a brilliant idea, and wondered how in the world he hadn't thought of it himself.

Fabrizio nodded along. "Sí, I a' agree," he piped up, shifting nervously on his feet.

Shannon smiled at their approval of her idea. "Thanks," she said, blushing a bit.

"Eye, me sweet has a lot of smart ideas, she's much smarter than I am," Tommy added in a low whisper, pulling his fiancé close and kissing the side of her face.

"Maybe, but me love is very strong, he's much stronger than I am," Shannon whispered back, snuggling into her fiancé's chest and rubbing noses with him.

"Can we actually figure this out, please!?" Rory interjected, tapping his foot and crossing his arms impatiently. He hated how lovey-dovey they were being in the middle of a crisis.

"Right," Jack cut in. "So we stay on the ship as long as possible, and then we'll try to swim once we get in the water," he said firmly.

"I'll swim to the rescue ship if I have to," Tommy mused. "I can do it with both of 'em on me back," he added, nodding towards his fiancé and her little brother.

"I a' do what I got to do!" Fabrizio agreed. "If we gotta swim, then that's a' what we do," he added brazenly.

...

Meanwhile, Joseph and Carrick were pacing back and forth in front of the windows, sloshing brandy around in their glasses. They looked out onto the crowded and chaotic deck and shuddered, both of them knowing what awaited them in a matter of several minutes.

Carrick sighed. "I'll tell ye me worst fear, Joey," he offered drunkenly.

Joseph nodded. "Eye, what's that, Rick-o?" he asked curiously.

"That yer brother an' his girly-friend will use this sinking as a distraction an' hide from us where we can never find 'em, and by the time we reach America, the bloody police will be waitin' for us at Ellis Island with handcuffs," Carrick slurred, sipping more of his brandy.

Drinking was a means of taming his anxiety. He knew that if he got drunk enough, the fact that they were trapped on a sinking ship wouldn't bother him at all, and he wouldn't really care.

His partner nodded along slowly. "Eye...unless they don't make it, or we don't..." Joseph pointed out. "I mean... the ship is sinkin' fer God's sake, and yer worried about gettin' arrested when ye don't even know if we'll make it outta this mess alive!" he snapped angrily.

Suddenly, something snapped inside of him and he just lost control. He was sick and tired of his partner's ways and desperately hoped that he would survive the sinking so that he could protect his family from him. He had to survive, he had to keep his brother and future sister-in-law safe as well, and he had to escape the clutches of Carrick Mooney once and for all.

"WE'LL MAKE IT!" Carrick roared furiously. "WE ARE SURVIVORS, DAMMIT!" He took a huge gulp of his brandy and chuckled quietly into his glass. "But yer wee brother an' his girl...they won't make it...because we're goin' to find them an' make 'em sorry fer snoopin' where they shouldn't have been snoopin'," he said in a low, eerie hiss.

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OK so I know this is like the shortest chapter yet, but that ending though... sometimes you just HAVE to leave it where it feels right xD Ohh the suspense!

Please tell me what you think so far, your feedback means the world to me! It really does! :D


	35. Risking It All

**A/N: Thanks to spikessweetgirl75 and NoScrubs4Me for your feedback, and to everyone who favorites and follows this story :D**

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_Risking It All_

Out on the chaotic deck, a sudden realization dawned on Jack, and he let out a loud groan. "Aw, shit!" he shouted, slamming his hand down on the ship's side rail.

This startled the already horrified Fabrizio, who asked, "What, what's a' matter?"

Jack rubbed his face and sighed miserably. "I just remembered I don't have my sketch-pad," he answered. "But I think I know where I left it...I have to go back in and get it," he added.

"You pazzo?!" Fabrizio yelled, shaking his friend's shoulders. "Da' ship is sinking, _dio __mio_!" he scolded furiously.

"Eye, he's right, boyo!" Tommy piped up, crossing his arms. "Ya can't go back in there looking' for it now or ya risk drowning," he explained coolly.

"Haven't you fellas ever had something that meant the world to you?" Jack asked his friends. "That sketch-pad has all my best memories in it, every single damn one, I can't leave it to rot at the bottom of the Atlantic forever. I just can't...my parents gave it to me!" he ranted, angry that none of them seemed to understand how much it meant to him.

"But Jack, if ya go get it, you'll be risking yourself ending up rotting at the bottom of the Atlantic forever," Shannon pointed out softly. "Yer safest up here on deck," she said.

"I don't care, none of you understand that!" Jack yelled at them. "I...I just have to go back for it...I've gotta!" With that, he rushed back inside the ship. He didn't care that he was being so foolish as to risk his life. All of his memories from back in Wisconsin with his family when they were still alive were in that book, all of his memories from his travels were in it too. Everything he ever hoped to remember was in it.

Fabrizio's eyes widened in shock. "Aspettare! Aspettare! I go with you! I help you look!" he shouted after him, running to catch up with him. He feared for his best friend's life, and sanity, and knew that he wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he let him wander off alone.

Tommy shook his head furiously. "Yer bloody insane!" he screamed after them. He could just see the two of them getting swept away by a huge gush of sea water. He didn't understand how his friend was willing to risk his life over a sketch-pad, memories or not.

"They're crazy," Shannon mumbled into his soft shirt.

"Eye, I know it," Tommy whispered into her hair.

"Now what do we do?" Rory asked, starting to panic a bit because of all the panicked people around them and all the officers firing off their guns.

"We stay here, we stay here as long as we possibly can," Tommy answered softly, kissing his fiancé on the lips.

"But what about yer brother an' that partner of his?" Shannon asked worriedly, rubbing noses with her fiancé.

"Eye, we don't feel like getting shot during all this." Rory shuddered nervously, burying his face in his elder sister's skirt.

He now seriously regretted ever following Tommy and Shannon onto the Titanic. If he hadn't, he would be safe at home and warm in his bed, instead of fearing for his young life aboard a sinking ship. It wasn't fair, he thought miserably.

Shannon hugged her younger brother tightly. "We don't either, we'll find a way to be safe again," she whispered soothingly in his ear.

She felt completely responsible for Rory's safety. She wished more than anything that he'd never followed them onto the ship, but it was too late for that now. Now she just had to keep him alive and well, otherwise, she couldn't imagine her poor parents' grief. After all, he was still just a child.

"I'm so scared, Shannon. I want to live and see Chicago with ye!" Rory was crying into her skirt. All he could hear at this point was screaming and gunshots. He couldn't take it... it was too much, far too much for him to handle.

"Shh, it's all right, Rory. We're going to be safe soon and ye'll see Chicago with us." Shannon tried desperately to console him. She was fighting back tears herself as more fear and anxiety flooded through her. She couldn't take all of the stress, but she was trying so hard not to break down, not yet.

She could still remember him when he was just a wee baby. When her mother and father had just brought him home. He'd been nothing more than a crying yellow bundle with the cutest face she'd ever seen in her six years of life.

_It was a nice, cool day in March of 1900. _

_6-year-old Shannon sat on her grandfather's lap as the door of their cottage burst open. Her father walked in, followed by her mother, who held a screaming bundle of yellow in her arms and kissed it softly. It was her infant brother Rory. He was so tiny, about the size of a sack of potatoes, and he had the sweetest little face. He sneezed a little baby sneeze, and little Shannon's heart melted right there and then. _

_Beside her was her 3-year-old sister Rhiannon, who let out a loud 'aww'. Both girls shared a loving look down at their wee brother and Shannon swore to always be there for him, to show him the ropes. _

A single tear dripped down her face and Tommy hugged her. "Don't ye worry, I will keep all three of us safe and well, you'll see," he said in a low whisper.

...

Inside the ship, Carrick suddenly noticed a certain blonde man rushing towards the Grand Staircase with his dark-haired friend rushing after him. "Wait a second, Joey, I think I've seen that man before...with Hockley's crowd," he mused, scratching his chin.

Joseph merely shrugged. "Eye, he was at dinner... their third class guest," he remembered coolly, sipping his glass of brandy.

"I swear I saw Hockley yelling at him before... maybe he stole something from him, or has more things hidden somewhere, I'm going to go and check it out," Carrick stated, slowly getting up from the chair he'd been sitting in. "I'll be right back," he added absent-mindedly.

"Mhmm." Joseph rolled his eyes, picking something out of his teeth. "Don't bother coming back," he muttered miserably under his breath.

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	36. The Epic Survival

**A/N: Thanks to spikessweetgirl75 for your feedback and to all who favorite and follow this story, it means a lot!**

**This contains the climax of the story, the part I am most excited to write, I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I will enjoy writing it!**

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_The Epic Survival_

Carrick followed the two young third class men up the Grand Staircase and watched as they went into Hockley's cabin. Wondering what in the world they were up to, he slowly made his way down the hall and peeked into the room.

Inside, the blonde man opened up Mister Caledon Hockley's safe and took out a brown leather book of sorts and tucked it under his arm, before telling his partner to hurry up and get back out on deck.

Not wanting to be seen, Carrick hurried up and rushed back down the hallway before the two men exited Hockley's cabin. It was beyond him why they would leave with nothing more than a ratty old book, but due to the dire circumstances that he currently faced, he decided not to question it. He had far more important things to worry about than the mischievous acts of two third class rats, like staying alive so that he could continue his life of crime in New York City.

...

Joseph finished off his third glass of brandy and scratched his chin. He was much calmer now with all of the alcohol coursing through his veins, but still, he worried for his life. Looking up towards the top of the Grand Staircase, he noticed that his partner had re-emerged, but was not looking in his direction.

_Could this finally be my chance to escape? _He thought, a twisted smile forming on his face. He quickly got to his feet and slipped out onto the crowded and chaotic deck, luckily unnoticed by his partner. He knew that he needed to find his family as soon as possible. He had to warn them and tell them that he was on their side.

Suddenly, he saw them standing near one of the side rails, talking in low whispers. Not only did he see his younger brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law, but there was also a young boy with them. He recognized the boy from back home in Dunfanaghy and realized at once that he was the youngest O'Neal sibling by the way the boy clung to his elder sister.

_I've got to warn them before it's too late. _"TOMMY!" he screamed, charging across the deck towards them. He even pushed a few panicked passengers to the side in the process, but he didn't care... he needed to reach his family.

Tommy turned sharply on his heels, to see his elder brother rushing at him from the other side of the deck. "GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!" he shouted, nearly tripping backwards in his panic. He grabbed his fiancé and soon-to-be brother-in-law and stood in front of them. He was sure that his brother was going to try and shoot them.

"Please listen," Joseph panted, holding his arms up in surrender as he skidded to a halt in front of them. "I'm not here 'ta shoot ye... I'm trying to tell ye that I've changed sides...I want to be good again," he explained, choking as he tried to catch his breath. "Please come with me and I'll protect ye from Carrick, he's the one who wants to shoot ye, I swear!" he pleaded, warm tears rolling down his face.

"DO YOU THINK I'M A BLOODY EEJIT?" Tommy roared furiously, warm tears forming in his own eyes as he pulled his loved ones close. "WHY THE HELL SHOULD WE TRUST YOU?" he demanded angrily. After all that his elder brother had put them through, it was not in his nature to forgive nor trust so easily. "YOU'LL PROBABLY LEAD US RIGHT INTO YER PARTNER'S SICK LITTLE TRAP, ADMIT IT YE BLOODY COWARD, ADMIT IT!" he shouted, pushing his brother backwards.

"YOU BLOODY EEJIT, IF I WANTED TO SHOOT YE I'D HAVE DONE IT ALREADY!" Joseph screamed in his brother's face. "LOOK, NO GUN!" He proceeded to throw his gun over the side rail and watched with a twinkle of insanity in his eyes as it made a tiny splash in the freezing ocean.

He had lost all sense of what he was doing at this point. He was so desperate to get his family to believe him that he was now willing to do anything to even get them to listen, including disposing of his gun even though he knew he may need it at a later time.

He'd expected his brother to be angry with him, after all the drama they had been through since reuniting on the ship, but he had to admit that his feelings were hurt. Even though he knew it was silly to feel the way he did, he couldn't help it. He was trying to save their lives for goodness sake; and his brother just kept pushing him away.

"YER BOTH ACTING LIKE EEJITS, THE SHIP'S BLOODY SINKIN'!" Shannon cried out in exasperation as she hugged her little brother. "NOW CAN YE STOP THIS INSANITY SO WE CAN TRY TO SURVIVE THIS BLOODY MESS?" she scolded furiously. She hated seeing her fiancé fighting with his elder brother more than anything in the world. She didn't know who to believe or what to think anymore. All she knew was that their survival was essential.

"THAT IS WHAT I'M TRYING TO DO!" Joseph shouted angrily. "DON'T ANY OF YE UNDERSTAND THAT I AM TRYING TO HELP YE?" He had reached his absolute boiling point now. He was trying to save their lives, and all they were doing was damning themselves further by arguing with him instead of taking his help.

"EYE, BULL SHITE!" Tommy roared, slamming himself into his elder brother and toppling onto the deck on top of him. "I WILL NEVER TRUST YE AGAIN, YE DESPICABLE MURDERER!" He started to punch and kick his brother out of frustration. He didn't have it in him to ever forgive his brother after leading such a criminal life, and he certainly wasn't about to trust a word out of his mouth either. Yet there was a part of him that so desperately cleaved to have a relationship with his elder brother again, and that was what made him so frustrated, so angry towards him.

The last time they had genuinely gotten on well with each other had been nine years ago. They used to accompany their father on fishing trips and work together to prepare bait to catch the fish in the lake with. Good times they were, good times that Tommy was sure he would never experience with his elder brother again. Unbeknownst to him, Joseph was thinking exactly the same thing.

"STOP IT, BOTH OF YE!" Shannon screamed, harshly throwing the brothers apart. She was sick and tired of their constant fighting, especially now that all of their lives were on the line. She couldn't handle all of the extra stress.

Tommy scrambled to his feet and brushed himself off. "I HATE YE so much!" he hissed furiously.

Joseph shook his head and straightened his coat and tie. "Well that's a damn shame, because I sure as hell LOVE YE!" he roared back.

Shannon stepped between them before they could touch each other again. "I honestly don't give a fecking shite how ye two feel about each other, the ship is sinking and we need to get the hell outta here somehow!" she snapped angrily.

...

Carrick looked over the rail of the Grand Staircase and scanned the large first class lobby area for his partner. When he didn't see him, he rushed down the steps, and realized that water had started to gush up onto the deck from the lower decks.

_Oh shite _He thought, not wanting to be caught in the flood's path. He hurried up and ran out onto the boat deck, and was shocked to his very core when he saw what his partner was up to; Joseph was struggling against his younger brother, whose name he couldn't quite recall at the moment, and it seemed as if he was trying to..._help _him.

Absolutely enraged, Carrick charged into the struggle and pushed the two brothers apart. "SO YE WERE GOING AGAINST OUR CAUSE!" he roared at his partner, decking him square in the jaw and watching as a tiny drop of blood oozed out from his lower lip.

"Rick-o... this has to end," Joseph pleaded. "I-I can't shoot my own family..." he tried to explain, but his partner would have none of it.

"So you've gone soft, have ye, Joey?" Carrick taunted. "Ye don't care about spending the rest of yer life in prison?" he asked in a low hiss, shaking his partner furiously.

"I've had enough of you and your criminal ways, Mooney, I never meant for things to escalate this far..." Joseph hissed back, stepping away from his malicious partner.

"Well there's no going back now, Ryan, otherwise you'll meet a miserable end like the coward ye are..." Carrick growled in reply, slowly advancing towards his partner with his gun pointed straight for his chest.

Joseph now greatly regretted throwing his gun overboard. He closed his eyes as he grabbed the railing behind him and he let the sounds of the screaming passengers and the officers firing their guns take over. _Oh God... is this how it ends? _He was afraid, but only a little, as he knew that he deserved what he was going to get.

However, when nothing happened, he slowly opened his eyes once more. He soon realized that his younger brother, soon-to-be sister-in-law, and little Rory were all standing beside him while Carrick stood in front of them with his gun pointed straight towards them.

"It ends here. Right the feck now," Carrick said in a low whisper, wavering his gun between the four of them. "Who's first?" he asked teasingly, as if they had a choice.

"Just take me, they won't tell a soul," Joseph pleaded in a low howl, stepping towards his partner. "Come on, I'm the one who wronged ye," he begged hopefully, trying to get his partner to spare his family. _It's the least I can do for them... to get them to trust me, after all that I've put them through. Please, God, do something...anything... or I will. _

Just as he thought he would have to take drastic measures, Shannon broke into hysterics. "IS THIS HOW IT'S GONNA BLOODY END FER US?" she screamed, almost attracting the attention of some nearby crew members. "AFTER EVERYTHING WE'VE BEEN THROUGH TO EVEN GET ON THIS SHIP?" she sobbed furiously into her fiancé's soft shirt. "HELL NO, IT ISN'T... WE AREN'T GONNA BLOODY GO DOWN LIKE THIS, YE FECKIN' COWARD WITH YER FECKIN' GUN, WHY DON'T YE FIGHT LIKE A REAL IRISHMAN, EH?" Her eyes flashed from a cheery bright blue to a blood-shot and furious red. "WITH YER BARE, FECKIN', HANDS!"

She was infuriated that after leaving her family, her home, and everything she knew, some lunatic named Carrick Mooney was going to end their lives aboard a sinking ship. She thought he was nothing more than a coward, hiding behind his dangerous hand-weapon, and dared him to use his bare hands... that way, at least it would be a fair fight. She also found herself trusting her soon-to-be brother in law. Even though he was a criminal who had abandoned his family and screwed them over countless times, he still seemed to have a heart inside his chest. And a brain inside his head.

Carrick found himself at a momentary loss for words, as he simply watched the young girl's rant. He found that his insides had gone numb, and he lost all control in his arms and hands... the gun began to lower. _No!_

Joseph immediately seized this opportunity to knock the gun out of his hand. He charged him, and watched as the gun landed with a loud clatter and slid across the deck. "BLOODY BASTARD!" he yelled, grabbing the gun and running back inside the ship.

"GO, RUN!" Tommy roared, pushing his fiancé and her little brother ahead of him as they too charged back inside.

"OH NO YE DON'T!" Carrick scrambled to his feet, nearly tripping and landing flat on his face as he rushed after them. "GIVE ME MY FECKIN' GUN!" he shouted at his partner, throwing passengers out of his way left and right.

When they got back inside the ship, freezing seawater was rapidly gushing up from the lower decks and flooding the first class lobby area. Joseph scrambled up the left side of the Grand Staircase and held onto the banister at the very top, pointing his gun down towards his partner. The screams of hundreds of panicked passengers filled the air.

Tommy, Shannon, and Rory ran up the right side of the Grand Staircase and huddled together in a warm embrace on the floor at the top. The once beautiful first class deck was now completely flooding and hundreds of passengers held onto the pillars for dear life.

"NOW YOU'LL BE SORRY!" Carrick shouted, charging up the steps after his partner. He was infuriated that his partner had had the nerve to go against their cause, and now he swore to make him pay.

"OH NO I WON'T!" Joseph roared, firing his gun in his partner's direction. He honestly didn't even care what he was doing anymore. If he could murder the O'Roarke's son, he could certainly murder his evil partner. The world would be better off anyways.

"I'm scared," Shannon whimpered, burying her face in her fiancé's chest.

"Shh, it's going to be all right," Tommy whispered, softly stroking his fiancé's hair.

The freezing water rose ever higher and the passengers that were trapped under the large glass dome continued to scream for their lives. Joseph continued firing his gun to keep his malicious partner at bay and Carrick continued shouting profanities at him to try to get him to back down.

Suddenly, there was a loud moaning-creak from up above, and the large glass dome above them burst and shattered. Passengers screamed in horror as they held onto the rails and tried to dodge the falling glass.

"Jesus," Shannon whispered, shaking in her fiancé's arms. The smell of the fishy Atlantic waters wafted up her nostrils as they continued to flood higher and higher.

"It's all right," Tommy whispered back, softly kissing his fiancé. He noticed some blood and glass floating in the water and cringed.

The lights started flickering on and off and everyone's lives seemed to flash before their eyes as they realized that they had reached the climactic end of the sinking. This was it. The ship was about to break apart and go under.

Just then, there was another loud crack, and part of the ceiling collapsed on the left side of the staircase. Without really thinking, Tommy screamed his elder brother's name, but there was no answer. _Jesus, Mary, and ...Joseph? _

He realized then and there that he did in fact forgive his brother. His brother who had saved them. His brother who had been willing to sacrifice himself for their safety. A million thoughts flooded through his brain, numbing it. What if his brother had just been crushed by the falling ceiling? Then he'd never get to tell him that he forgave him, and he'd never get to apologize for doubting him, and he'd never get to...

Suddenly, he felt something smack into his forehead, and everything went black. Shannon screamed his name. The ceiling on their side of the stairs had started to collapse, and a piece of debris had knocked him unconscious.

...

Carrick's eyes widened in horror as leapt out of the way of the falling debris from the ceiling. Opening his eyes, he didn't see his partner anywhere, and secretly hoped that he'd been crushed when the ceiling had fallen in.

_I've got to get out of here. _He hurried up and jumped out one of the windows, landing back out on the flooding boat deck. With that, he swam off the deck and grabbed hold of one of the nearby collapsibles.

Unbeknownst to him, Joseph had also managed to barely escape the falling ceiling and had swam out one of the windows. The young Irishman, looking like a drenched sewer rat, swam for his life in the freezing water. He had to survive this. He had to.

...

Shannon broke into hysterical, shuddering sobs as she desperately shook her fiancé. "TOMMY! NOOOOOOOOO!" she wailed, scorching hot tears rolling down her face. She closed her eyes and hugged him tightly, weeping helplessly into his soaking wet shirt. "DON'T LEAVE ME!" she screamed in horror.

Her mind immediately raced to the worst possible scenario, that her beloved fiancé had left her, but he was still breathing... if just barely. She couldn't and wouldn't live without him, she needed him more than anything or anyone in the world. She bit her lip to suppress her sobs, and for just a moment, she wished that the entire ceiling would just collapse on top of her too.

Without Tommy, there would be no bright future in the city of Chicago. There would be no six babies to look forward to. There would be nothing but darkness and pain, because there wasn't another man alive in the world that she could love as much as she loved Tommy.

"PULL YERSELF TOGETHER, FOR GOD'S SAKE, SHANNON!" Rory screamed at her, his eyes wide in horror as he shook his elder sister back into reality. "HE'S STILL BREATHING, WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE... NOW!" he wailed, wildly gesturing towards an open window.

He began to panic even worse than before. His elder sister was an emotional wreck, and he depended on her for his own survival. He didn't know what to do without her guidance, and he was horrified for his young life. He needed her to pull herself together. It was the only way to get out of this mess.

"HOW IN THE WORLD AM I SUPPOSED TO CARRY HIM, RORY?" Shannon screamed back at him, her own eyes filled with tears as she scooted over and hugged her younger brother. "WHAT THE HELL ARE WE GOING TO DO?" she wept, trying desperately to lift her fiancé.

"I'LL HELP YE, COME ON, WE'VE GOTTA DO THIS TOGETHER!" Rory shouted, grabbing one of the unconscious man's arms and draping it over his shoulder, nearly falling backwards in the process.

"HURRY UP THEN!" Shannon yelled, draping her fiancé's other arm around her own shoulder.

Both of the O'Neal siblings managed to lift Tommy enough so that his face was above the water, and then swam for dear life towards the open window. The water outside was even more frigid, as the cold sea air was blowing on them as well.

_Thank God for the lifebelts. _Shannon couldn't remember a time when she'd been more freezing in her eighteen years of life than she was right now. "Just keep swimming, don't stop until we reach the boats up ahead, you can see their lanterns," she panted, choking on the salty seawater as she swam.

She closed her eyes and imagined herself anywhere else but in the middle of the freezing Northern Atlantic. She pictured herself having a romantic picnic with Tommy under the stars. It was the only thing she could do to keep herself going.

_It was a cool, dark night. The stars glimmered brightly in the sky. They were sitting out on the deck of the Titanic, but it wasn't sinking._

_She wore a pretty pink dress and her hair was down and wavy. Tommy sat in front of her wearing a nice pair of trousers and a clean vest and shirt._

_They were having a small supper of porridge and bread and cheese. It wasn't much, but it was delicious nonetheless._

_"I have something for ye, sweet," Tommy whispered with a wily smirk, pulling a fresh red apple out of his trousers pocket._

_"Oh, where did ye get it, love?" Shannon whispered back with a soft smile, gently taking a bite out of the juicy fruit. __It was truly delicious._

_"I stole it, o' course... it's a sweet apple for me sweet girl." Tommy leaned in close and planted a soft kiss on her lips._

_"Yer a sweet boy." Shannon giggled as she kissed him back._

_Suddenly, she heard a young boy's voice calling her name. It was coming from far away, and she opened her eyes,_

"SHANNON, THERE'S A BOAT!" Rory shouted, pointing ahead. "IT'S JUST A FEW MORE FEET AWAY, COME ON!" he yelled, paddling for his life against the frigid waves.

"GO, RORY, HURRY!" Shannon screamed, kicking hard against the cruel Northern Atlantic waters. "GO AND DON'T LOOK BACK!"

As the O'Neal siblings swam for their lives towards the nearing lifeboat, they recognized a familiar ginger-haired lady. It was Mrs. Brenna Hannigan, huddled in a plaid blanket near the end of the boat.

Shannon screamed, "MRS. HANNIGAN, HELP US!"

Mrs. Hannigan turned abruptly at the sound of her name to see two teenagers carrying an unconscious young man on their shoulders. "JESUS, MARY, and JOSEPH...SOMEONE GET THESE POOR CHILDREN IN HERE NOW!" she yelled to the crew-man steering the boat.

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	37. Tír na nÓg

**A/N: Thanks to spikessweetgirl75 for your ****feedback, and to everyone following and favoriting this story, it means so much to me!**

* * *

_Tír na nÓg_

The O'Neal siblings along with the unconscious Tommy were helped into the lifeboat and given warm blankets. The other passengers in the boat scooted over to make room for them. It was a tight fit, but everyone managed to make it work.

Shannon held her fiancé's head in her lap and pulled their blanket up higher to keep them warm. She ripped off a tiny piece to hold against the gash on the side of his head, to contain the flow of blood. Fresh hot tears scorched in her eyes and she sniffled. "Please don't leave me, Tommy...stay here," she wept softly, planting soft kisses on his face.

Rory held his elder sister in a comforting embrace. "He's going to be fine, Shannon, I promise," he said in a low whisper, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder.

Even though he was only twelve, he understood how much Tommy meant to his sister, and felt absolutely awful seeing the pain in her eyes whenever she looked down at her unconscious fiancé. He sent up a silent prayer to God to spare the young Irishman.

Tommy continued to lay still in his fiancé's lap as he drifted in and out of consciousness. He wasn't aware of his surroundings at all, as the only thing he could see was darkness and the little twinkling stars of the night sky whenever he opened his eyes.

...

_Tommy opened his eyes once again, to find himself laying in a lush green meadow. The birds were chirping happily, the deer pranced around and chewed on the various plants, and soft melodic music played on from far away._

_Unaware of where exactly he was, he decided to get up and explore his surroundings. Upon standing, he realized that he was dressed in the finest suit he'd ever seen in his life, and that his shoes were polished perfectly._

_Suddenly, he heard soft footsteps, and spun around to see Shannon coming towards him. She wore a beautiful white dress and her hair was pinned up perfectly. He realized that it was his wedding day... but where were all the guests? And...where were they?_

_"Shanny, you look so beautiful," he whispered with a wily grin, gently wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close._

_"Tommy, you look so handsome," she whispered back with a soft smile, rubbing her nose against his and kissing him on the lips._

_"So, where are we anyways?" Tommy asked curiously, adjusting his tie. "Where's all the guests, sweet?"_

_Shannon's face fell and she gently touched his chest. "Oh, love, don't you understand?" she asked gently. "There's no guests... it's just the two of us."_

_Tommy's smile faded and he shook his head. "But... there must at least be a priest here to marry us," he said, looking around in a panicked confusion. "Right?"_

_Shannon closed her eyes and kissed him again. "No, there's no priest... don't you know where we are?" she asked softly._

_"Where?" Tommy looked around again._

_"The most beautiful place in the Celtic afterlife, of course, Tír na nÓg," Shannon answered._

_Tommy's eyes snapped wide open and his mouth dropped. "I'm sorry... AFTERLIFE?" He didn't understand._

_Shannon nodded and her smile faded. "Yes, remember when the Titanic sank and that piece of ceiling hit you? I couldn't deal with the grief of losing you so I took yer brother's gun and shot myself so that we could be together."_

_Tommy couldn't believe his ears, nor his eyes, nor anything now... his senses had to be deceiving him. "YOU DID WHAT?" he roared, his voice cracking with devastation. _

_Shannon tried to reach out to touch his arm, but he pushed her hand away. He couldn't believe that they hadn't survived the Titanic's sinking... wasn't it only a few days ago that they were making love to each other in the cargo hold? Wasn't it only a few minutes ago that he was holding his precious fiancé in his arms and telling her that they would survive?_

_"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" He collapsed to the ground in a twitching fit, not caring that he was getting grass and dirt stains all over his nice suit. Not caring that he was acting like a weak little infant in front of fiancé. Not caring about anything. He couldn't believe that they hadn't survived... he couldn't... he wouldn't... _

_He took off running into the woods, trees and greenery flashing before his eyes. He came to a rushing waterfall, a cool, rushing waterfall that looked so nice... he jumped in. If he could drown once, he could do it again. He had to get out of there. _

_"TOMMY! PLEASE!" Shannon was chasing him, screaming, crying, but her voice sounded so distant to him now...too distant._

...

"Tommy! Please!" Shannon wept softly as she stroked her fiancé's unruly curls. _He has to be all right... he just has to be... _

Tommy's eyes snapped wide open and he realized that he was shaking and crying in his fiancé's lap. "I don't want us to go to Tír na nÓg, we've got to survive!" he yelled, his head thrashing back and forth wildly. The other passengers in the boat were staring at him. Especially Mrs. Hannigan. "I've got to get out of here!"

"Shh, it's all right love, yer safe..." Shannon whispered soothingly. "Yer safe..." she repeated, planting a gentle kiss on his face. Despite the circumstances, a wide smile formed on her lips. The man she loved was all right, he was awake, and she couldn't have been more relieved.

"We're in a boat, Tommy," Rory piped up. "We're all right, it's just a bad dream."

Neither of the O'Neal siblings cared about the weird looks that the other passengers in the boat were giving them. They were both overjoyed that Tommy was safe and awake.

Shannon kissed her fiancé again, so grateful that he'd finally come to. "Eye, it was just a bad dream," she echoed, still choking back tears. She turned to Mrs. Hannigan. "Can we get another blanket?" she pleaded, still holding the piece of cloth against Tommy's cut. "We have to keep him warm," she said.

Mrs. Hannigan handed her another blanket and she wrapped it around her fiancé's shoulders. "Once we get on the rescue ship we'll get ye some nice, warm soup... how would ye like that?" she cooed, staring lovingly into his tired eyes. All she wanted to do now was baby him.

"Eye, soup's nice..." Tommy choked out groggily, staring back up into her tear-filled eyes.

"Then we'll get ye some soup," Shannon whispered softly. "I love ye, Tommy," she said, a single tear sliding down her face, glistening in the moonlight.

"I love ye more, Shanny," Tommy responded, a small smile playing on his lips. "And I'd like that," he whispered warily.

Shannon looked up towards the starry night sky and smiled happily. She couldn't describe how grateful she was that her fiancé, who meant everything to her, was all right. She couldn't even bare to imagine a world without him in it. _Thank ye, God, thank ye God for me Tommy back..._

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	38. Stranded in the Northern Atlantic

**A/N: Thanks to spikessweetgirl75 and kerrythabae (formerly NoScrubs4Me) for your feedback, and to all who are favoriting and following this story, it means so much to me! :)**

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_Stranded in the Northern Atlantic_

The RMS Titanic had split into two pieces, and now the stern of the ship was waiting to go under. It was freezing out in the ocean, where hundreds of passengers were already stranded, either in lifeboats or floating in the water.

Joseph had managed to find a large cabinet and climbed on top of it. Far off in the distance, he could hear hundreds of people screaming for their lives as the mighty ship took it's final plunge into water, ending most of their lives in minutes.

He found it a shame that the beautiful ship had foundered so tragically, but he shed no tears. He couldn't even if he'd wanted to, as he felt like if he even tried, the tears would freeze onto his face before they could slide all the way down. Even the stubble on his chin had bits of ice sticking to it.

He couldn't remember another time where he'd been so cold in his life. Even though he was safely on top of the cabinet and out of the water, he still found himself unable to breathe or think. His insides were numb. He was freezing to his very core. But his will to survive was stronger than ever.

Looking up at the stars twinkling brightly in the sky, he sent up a silent prayer that he would reach the promise land and get to start his life over for the better. All he wanted to do more than anything in the world was escape the evil Carrick Mooney and set to work atoning for his sins. He figured he'd find a factory job, or perhaps a harbor job, or a job in trading, and make an honest living full of hard work and dedication.

Thinking about his future made staying in the water just a little bit easier. He had something to fight for, and by God, would he fight his hardest. _Come on, pull yourself together man, there must be a rescue ship coming soon enough... just hang in there, hang in there and everything will be right again _He thought to himself.

...

Meanwhile in their lifeboat, Shannon was gently stroking Tommy's unruly light brown curls as she whispered sweet nothings to him in Gaelic. Rory was asleep beside them. The piercing screams of the passengers now stranded in the ocean could be heard far off in the distance.

"It's going to be all right soon, love," Shannon cooed, planting a sweet kiss on his face.

"Eye, and so will we, sweet," Tommy cooed back, staring lovingly into her eyes.

Shannon sniffled as a single tear slid down from her eye, glistening in the moonlight. "I hope so," she said in a low whisper.

She was still in utter shock at what had just happened. Their ship had sunk right from under them. She couldn't believe how many people's lives had ended in matters of hours-minutes-seconds. And even though she knew that her fiancé would be all right once they reached the rescue ship, she couldn't help but be worried. No matter how hard she tried, she could not tame her anxiety.

Tommy grinned as he wiped it away with his finger. "We'll be amazing, don't ye worry," he whispered in reply.

Though he was weary and bleeding out of his forehead, he knew that it was important to console his fiancé, who was clearly more traumatized than he was. He knew deep down that everything would be all right for them. They would live happily ever after, he was certain. All he needed was to get his cut bandaged up on the rescue ship and he'd be good to go. He felt incredibly lucky.

"I don't know how to feel, Tommy," Shannon admitted softly, resting her head against his.

"I know, Shanny, I know," Tommy responded lowly, pressing his lips against hers.

"It's just so hard to digest all that's happened in the past few hours, love, and I can't help but be scared about...well, everything." Shannon sniffled faintly.

"Look, sweet, we're alive... we're gonna go to Chicago soon where I'll get a job on the harbor and we'll settle down and make our six wee babies. I realize it's hard to swallow somethin' like this happening, but we've got to try, eh?" Tommy asked quietly.

Shannon nodded as she choked back her tears. "I'm just so grateful you're all right," she wept softly.

Tommy nodded too as he wiped them away with his fingers again. "Of course I am, and I always will be," he whispered gently.

"I love you, Mister Ryan." Shannon managed a faint smile.

"I love you more, Miss O'Neal." Tommy cracked a wily grin.

By this time, most of the screams that surrounded them had quieted down, and they could faintly hear a few officers talking about how the RMS Carpathia would be there in a couple of hours. Also, Fifth Officer Lowe was planning to go back to look for anyone still alive in the water.

...

Joseph lay on the cabinet, unaware of exactly how much time had passed. He was breathing slow, shuddering breaths in the freezing air. Suddenly, he saw a light, and heard a man's voice yelling out to the frozen passengers to see if there was anyone still alive.

He wanted to badly to dive back into the water and swim to the boat to be rescued, but he didn't have any strength left. All he could manage was a low, strained croak. But it was better than nothing. He had to try.

"Is there anyone alive out there?" Officer Lowe shined his flashlight. "Can anyone hear me?"

"Ov'r heh!" Joseph shouted, his voice cracking. "H'lp mah!"

Luckily, the fifth officer heard his pleas, and called out, "We'll be right there, Sir!"

Joseph let out a heavy sigh. Alas, he was safe. _Thank ye so much, God, thank ye for sparing my despicable soul. In turn I will atone for all of my sins._

_..._

Carrick pulled a large plaid blanket tightly around himself in the collapsible lifeboat he'd managed to board. How few cries to be heard now pleased his evil soul, and he hoped that his cowardly partner was among those who had perished.

Unbeknownst to him, however, Joseph Ryan was still very much alive.

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Please let me know what you think! :D


	39. Of Soup and Sleep

**A/N: Thanks to spikessweetgirl75 and kerrythabae for reviewing and to everyone who is favoriting and following this story, it means a lot!**

**Just a short Tommy-Shannon-Rory centric filler-chapter Enjoy! :)**

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_Of Soup and Sleep_

Hours passed on the dark and freezing Northern Atlantic ocean before the rescue ship, the _RMS Carpathia_, finally arrived to help the surviving passengers aboard. Crew members from both the Carpathia and Titanic took notes as they sorted the survivors back into their separate classes and gave them warm tea and blankets. Those who were injured were immediately taken to the infirmary for treatment.

...

Shannon sat at her fiancé's bedside and held his hand while an elderly nurse wrapped a large gauze bandage around his head, to stop the flow of blood that oozed from the wound. "Is it painful, love?" she cooed, choking back tears as she kissed his fingers.

Tommy nodded weakly as he stared up at his fiancé. "Eye, sweet, but I'll be all right," he cooed back, reaching out and patting her leg.

Shannon looked up at the nurse. "Did he lose a lot of blood?" she asked, a worried edge in her sweet voice. Even though Tommy was awake and talking, she was still scared about the deep gash in his forehead from the piece of flying debris. She knew what could happen when people lost too much blood...

The nurse shook her head at the young girl. "Not enough to do any harm, once he's rested, he'll be just fine," she answered, a calming smile across her face. _Ah young love _She thought as she wrapped another layer of bandaging around Tommy's head.

"See, Shanny, I'm all right." Tommy flashed his fiancé a wily smirk. "Ye worry too much, sweet."

"That's because I love ye, Tommy." Shannon scowled softly at her fiancé. "More than I can describe, love."

"All right, you're all bandaged up, boy," the nurse interjected with a smile. "Just rest, it looks like you're in good hands," she said, shuffling away to treat more injured passengers.

Just as the Irish sweethearts leaned in to share a kiss, Rory came rushing over to the bed carrying two bowls of piping hot soup, and another blanket was slung over his shoulder. "Here, keep yerself warm," he said, draping the blanket around his elder sister. "An' I snuck some soup from one of the deck stewards," he added, putting the bowls on the bedside table.

Shannon smiled gratefully at her little brother. "Thank ye," she replied, grabbing one of the bowls and softly blowing on a spoonful of the hot soup. "Here, eat up now, this will taste nice," she whispered, slowly extending it towards her fiancé's mouth.

Tommy managed a sleepy grin as he opened his mouth and swallowed the nice, warm soup. It was a bit spicy, which he liked, and he could immediately feel its warmth coursing through his veins. "Eye, 'tis nice," he mumbled, reaching up and gently stroking his fiancé's face.

"Good boy, here's another spoonful," Shannon cooed, spooning more soup into his mouth.

"Thank ye, sweet girl," Tommy whispered, smiling at her as he swallowed.

Rory managed a faint smile as he grabbed the other bowl of soup and took a spoonful for himself. He realized how truly in-love his sister was with Tommy Ryan, and as much as it grossed him out at times, even he couldn't deny how cute they were together. He hoped that one day, he would find a girl of his own, who would love him as much as his sister loved Tommy.

Tommy yawned and stretched his arms behind his head, looking quite content after being fed the warm soup. "Why don't you have some now, sweet?" he asked in a low whisper. "Ye need to be takin' care of yerself now too, eh?"

Shannon giggled softly and nodded her head, looking very happy despite the circumstances. "All right, love," she replied in a gentle coo as she took a spoonful of the warm soup for herself.

With another yawn, Tommy fluffed up his pillows and laid back down. "Eye, 'ts been a long night," he muttered sleepily.

"Are ye sleepy, love?" Shannon cooed softly, pulling his blankets higher around him to keep him nice and cozy.

"Eye, very, sweet," Tommy mumbled back, reaching out and wrapping his arms around her waist to make sure she couldn't get up. "Lay down with me?"

With a soft giggle, Shannon nodded and slowly snuggled up against him. "There's hardly room fer us both," she noted. It was a very small bed, but then again, so was the one they had slept in on the Titanic.

Tommy kissed her softly, holding her in a warm and cozy embrace as he pulled the blankets higher yet around both of them. "I don't care, I want my princess next 'ta me," he whispered, rubbing his nose against hers.

Shannon kissed him back and buried her face in his soft shirt. "Aww, I love being next to me bastard," she giggled, batting her eyelashes against the bridge of his nose.

"You two are somethin' else," Rory laughed, shaking his head. "Well, I think I'll go an' see if I can find Jack an' Fabrizio...anything's better than watchin' yer lovey dovey time," he decided, turning sharply on his heel and charging out towards the deck.

"Wait, Rory!" Tommy yelled groggily, holding up his hand. "See if ye can't find me brother Joseph too." He managed a faint smile and a weak nod, before his eyes slowly fluttered closed, and he wandered into a deep sleep.

"Eye, will do!" Rory yelled back, scurrying away.

Smiling happily, Shannon snuggled into her fiancé's soft shirt and went to sleep, dreaming of her favorite boys. With the man she loved by her side, as well as her precious wee brother, she felt like the luckiest girl in all the world... despite the fact that she'd just experienced one of the most tragic shipwrecks in history.

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**A/N: Please lemme know what you think! Your feedback means the world to me!**


	40. Brother To Brother

**A/N: Thanks to spikessweetgirl75 for the nice review, and to everyone who is favoriting and following... it means so much to me!**

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_Brother To Brother_

Rory walked out onto the third class deck. The bright orangey sunshine radiated its warmth down onto the bright turquoise waters of the Northern Atlantic, making it sparkle, and a cool breeze blew over the deck. Despite the tragedy that the Titanic survivors had just endured, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves in the nice, cool maritime weather.

While on his quest to find someone he knew, he spotted a young man huddled up in a large plaid blanket on one of the benches. He couldn't see his face, but he appeared to have dark brown hair, and from that angle looked rather like a soaking wet sewer rat. As he got closer, he could see that the man was wearing a tattered evening suit, and a strange feeling washed over him: this was one of the men he'd been sent to find, this was Joseph.

"Er...Mister Ryan?" He spoke up numbly. Dreading the worst, that he had just disrupted some stranger, he hung his head and locked his eyes on his shoes.

"Yes?" The man looked up. There was a look of recognition in his eyes, as the boy looked very familiar, and he managed a weak smile.

Rory was shocked to the core. "Uh... do you know who I am, Sir?" he asked, shifting awkwardly on his heels. He had no idea what such a wealthy man was doing down in the steerage section of the ship, but he decided not to question it... yet.

Joseph gave a weak nod. "Eye, yer the wee O'Neal boy... tell me, did me brother survive?" he wanted to know, scratching the stubble on his chin. Their safety and survival had been all he'd been thinking about for the past few hours, and the sight of the young boy had caused a surge of relief to wash over him.

He'd snuck down to the third class part of the ship to hide from his evil ex-partner, whom he was sure would never dream of looking anywhere but the first class part of the ship for him, and also to try and find out if his family had survived the sinking.

"Eye, he did, Sir. Tommy's in the infirmary, sleeping, me sister was takin' care of him." Rory nodded happily and pointed in the direction he'd come from.

"Thank God. I was real worried about ye three." Joseph smiled faintly and took a sip out of his cup of tea.

"Ye were?" Rory asked, a bit caught off guard. He'd been under the impression that Tommy's brother wasn't such a good man, but now, his impression of the elder Ryan brother was starting to change.

"I was," Joseph replied, slightly offended. He'd so hoped that Shannon's brother would've been more trusting towards him, but he realized that after all he'd done, he was lucky that the wee O'Neal boy was friendly with him.

"Why?" Rory inquired curiously, his bright blue eyes wide.

"Because I'm not the man our village thinks I am. That's the old, selfish, me... I've changed, y'see," Joseph explained calmly, his warm amber eyes tired. "Reunintin' with me brother on the Titanic changed me fer the better, I learned that I don't have 'ta be rich to be happy... an' that a life of crime is no life at all, an' I'm sorry fer what I did to me family a few years ago. So one day, if I ever get back 'ta Ireland, I hope I can make it up to me parents," he said.

He thought back to the day he'd left the small village of Dunfanaghy in County Donegal, Ireland. The day he'd left his parents...his home...his sixteen year old brother who had always looked up to him despite the fact that he always bullied the poor boy. He could feel scorching hot tears stinging in his eyes as he remembered his despicable betrayal.

His poor old parents had worked their arses off to give him the world, and he'd repaid their efforts by just up and leaving them to rot, while he went off and enjoyed a life of luxury. He could've shared... he could've reached out to them... but instead he'd acted like a selfish, arrogant bastard, and he hated himself for it.

Rory nodded slowly, soaking up the older man's words. Suddenly, a feeling of pity washed over him, and he patted the elder Ryan brother on the shoulder. "Don't ye worry," he said. "I know ye'll get back to Ireland, and I know that yer family doesn't hate ye... ye'll be forgiven. After all, us Irish are very forgiving people," he added reassuringly.

Joseph shook his head and let out a bitter chuckle. "I hope that yer right, Rory, but not everyone is as understandin' as you are," he said.

"Er... I don't know if this will make ye feel any better or not, but I think yer brother does forgive ye," Rory interjected after a few seconds of silence had ticked by. He shifted nervously on his feet. "And I think me sister does too," he said as an afterthought.

"That does make me feel a bit better... a lot better, actually," Joseph said slowly, nodding his head. "Could ye do me a favor?" he asked, gently squeezing the young boy's hand.

"Sure," Rory replied happily. "What do you need, Sir?"

"Could ye tell me brother how sorry I am?" Joseph asked pleadingly. "I think he deserves to hear it at least one more time."

Rory bit his lip and scratched behind his ear, thinking about what the older man had just asked of him, before shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Sir, but that's something only you can do... it won't mean as much coming from someone else," he explained coolly.

Joseph nodded knowingly, realizing that the young boy was right. "Eye, I suppose that's true... where can I find them?" he asked dejectedly.

"The infirmary is that way, it's on the left," Rory told him. "Would ye like me to show ye?" he offered.

"That's all right, lad, I think I can find it... you enjoy the sunshine," Joseph answered him. "But thank ye," he added, walking off in the opposite direction.

On his way to the infirmary, he looked up at the bright blue skies and grinned happily to himself. _Thank ye so much God... ye spared my despicable soul...you've given me a second chance to make things right with my family, so I promise ye now... I won't let you down._

...

Back in the infirmary, Shannon had woken up from her short slumber, and was now staring lovingly at her sleeping fiancé. She noted how adorable he looked with his eyes closed and a content expression across his face, like a wee baby, and giggled softly as she planted a sweet kiss on his nose.

She was truly so relieved that they had all survived the horrific sinking and were now safe and happy on the rescue ship. She looked out the window, at the beautiful sunshine, and smiled. _Thank ye God... yer always looking out for us. _"I love you, Tommy...and I can't wait 'ta marry ye, to make babies with ye, and to live happily ever after with ye," she whispered, kissing her fiancé softly on the lips.

Letting out a soft yawn and stretching his arms, Tommy slowly opened his eyes, and squeezed his fiancé's hand. "I love you too, Shanny...and I can't wait 'ta marry ye, to make babies with ye, and to live happily ever after with ye either," he whispered back, returning the kiss.

"Ye make me so happy," Shannon told him, planting soft kisses on his bandage-covered forehead.

"Ye complete me...yer me better half," Tommy told her, gently wrapping his arms around her waist.

Just as he leaned in to kiss his fiancé on the lips again, they both heard sudden rushing footsteps coming towards the bed, and looked up to see none other than his brother Joseph. Needless to say, he was shocked to the core, as he'd thought his brother had been crushed by the falling ceiling.

He opened his mouth, and then closed it again, and then opened it once more. "You... yer... alive?" he croaked out weakly, a twinkle of relief in his eyes.

Joseph managed a faint grin. "Eye... aren't ye happy to see me?" he joked softly, shifting awkwardly on his heels.

"But...the ceiling fell on you," Tommy pointed out, an edge of disbelief in his voice. He remembered seeing it with his own eyes; the shattering glass, the falling pieces of wood...and he remembered yelling his brother's name when it all collapsed.

"It just missed me, actually," Joseph clarified, a wily smirk forming on his lips. As he remembered darting out the broken window, he could faintly recall someone calling his name, and realized now who it had been...his brother.

Tommy let out a small chuckle and nodded. "Eye, well that's good then," he said.

He found himself suddenly forgiving his brother for everything he'd done, as despicable as those things were, and he realized that time was precious...and that no matter what he'd done, Joseph was still his big brother.

Joseph laughed as well. "So... I wanted to apologize... fer everything," he started nervously, looking into his little brother's eyes.

"Go on then." Tommy flashed a wily smirk. He'd been waiting for this for five years, and finally, it was happening.

"Look, if I could go back in time an' fix everything...I would in a heartbeat. I so wish that I'd never left home to go off and live a life of crime and undeserved luxury, but more importantly, I wish that while I was living that undeserved life of luxury...I would've shared me wealth with me poor family back home, and sent them a letter statin' that I was all right. But what did I do instead? I ignored ye all completely...I let our poor mother worry sick about me, I let our poor father hate himself fer raisin' such a despicable and selfish son... and I disgraced our family name to its very core. I am so sorry, and I can only pray that God spares me from hell, but if I do go to hell one day...I'll know why," Joseph apologized, spilling his feelings and past mistakes to his little brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law.

"Eye, I agree with all of that... ye should never have left, ye should've shared what he had with us, ye should've let us know that ye were all right... and most importantly; ye should NEVER have murdered Billy O'Roarke," Tommy began, a faint smile forming on his lips. "But... all the same, yer still my brother...and time is precious. We forgive ye," he explained slowly with a nod at the end.

His brother's change of allegiance and his countless efforts to protect them from Carrick during the sinking, convinced him that his elder brother really was a changed man, who regretted everything he'd done. And he knew that time was much too precious to waste it holding grudges against the people who meant the most to him.

"Really?" Joseph's warm amber eyes seemed to pop out of their sockets. He couldn't believe that his stubborn little brother had actually forgiven him.

"Really," Shannon piped up with a smile, squeezing her fiancé's hand. She noticed the disbelief in her soon-to-be brother-in-law's eyes, and giggled softly. "Come on, ye know yer brother never says anything he doesn't mean...yer forgiven," she said.

"I just feel like I don't deserve it," Joseph admitted, looking down at his worn leather shoes.

"Ye don't, but we're giving it to ye anyways," Tommy laughed, rubbing his face and letting out another sleepy yawn.

Joseph smiled happily. "I promise ye now, I will always be there for ye... in any way ye need me to be. Yer me little brother, and I love ye so much," he told him, shuffling over and patting his leg.

Tommy smirked widely. "Eye, and yer me big brother whom I love so much... so I'll always be there for ye too, with whatever ye may need," he told him, squeezing his hand.

Shannon sniffled as she felt scorching hot tears forming in her eyes. She was touched by the fact that the Ryan brothers had finally reconciled, as she'd hoped and prayed for it ever since they had first run into each other on the Titanic. "Damn right yer brothers, and if ye ever fight like this again... I'll have to kick both yer arses back 'ta Ireland," she said with a choked-up giggle, letting the tears flow freely down her face. She was so happy right in that moment.

Both of the Ryan brothers laughed heartily at this, which caused Shannon to burst into a fit of giggles. Despite everything they had been through in the past few days, they couldn't have been happier to be alive and together at last.

...

Meanwhile, Rory was still looking for any sign of the blonde artist from Wisconsin or his Italian friend, but so far he had had no luck. Just as he was beginning to lose hope, however, someone hugged him tightly from behind.

He turned sharply on his heels, and found himself face-to-face with Fabrizio. "Eh, Rory!" the Italian yelled excitedly. He didn't appear to have any injuries other than a cut on the bridge of his nose, and he was wrapped up nice and warm in a blanket.

"Fabrizio! Ye made it!" Rory shouted happily, hugging him back. He couldn't even describe how relieved he was, as even though he hadn't known the man long, he'd found himself taking a great liking to him.

"Sí, I a' did!" Fabrizio was grinning from ear to ear as he nodded over towards one of the benches, where his Norwegian sweetheart was sitting with her family. "Mister Dahl, I a' always think he no like me, but then... a' when I was a' swimming in 'da water an' one of 'da smokestacks came crashing down over me...he save me and drag me outta 'da way just in time!" he explained, recalling how Helga's father had saved his life. "Then we a' both get on a boat that was a' nearby," he added happily.

"Whoa, that's amazing!" Rory exclaimed, looking over at the man with the fluffy gray mustache, who currently had his face buried in a newspaper.

"Sí, bella Helga was a' so happy to see me!" Fabrizio grinned happily. Suddenly, however, his expression turned serious. "You no seen Jack yet, have you?" he asked, an edge of worry in his once-happy voice.

"Er...no, I haven't," Rory answered, hanging his head. "I was trying to look fer both of ye, so far, I haven't seen him," he admitted, a hint of self-agitation in his squeaky pubescent voice.

"Oh." Fabrizio nodded sadly. "Maybe he turn up soon," he added, trying to remain optimistic despite the slim chances of ever seeing his best friend again. "Eh, what about your sister an' Tommy?" he tried, a twinkle of hope shining in his tired hazel eyes.

"They're both just fine, Tommy got a piece of flyin' debris to the head which knocked him out cold... but he's awake now an' a nurse bandaged up his head," Rory explained calmly, glad to be the bearer of at least some good news.

"Ohhhh that's a' so good." Fabrizio's happy smile returned and he hugged the young boy again. At least his Irish friends were all right. "Maybe we find Jack if we look together, eh?" he asked as an afterthought, looking pleadingly into Rory's bright pools of blue.

"Sure, let's go look," Rory agreed, smiling up at Fabrizio as they linked hands. Together, they started off on their quest to find the Wisconsin-born artist.

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Sooo... where the heck is Jack, man?!

Please tell me what you think! Your feedback means the world to me!


	41. Happy Times

**A/N: Thanks to spikessweetgirl75 and kerrythabae for your nice reviews, and to everyone who is favoriting and following this story-it means a lot! :)**

**NOTE: There is a minor sensual scene in this chapter, read at your own discretion.**

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_Happy Times_

Back in the infirmary, Joseph still sat at his brother's bedside and was now holding his hand, as they reminisced over the happy times of when they were just wee boys back in Ireland. "Eye, do ye remember the time when we ate all of mam's fresh baked cookies that she planned to give to out at church?" he tried with a wily grin across his face.

Tommy let out a hearty laugh and nodded. "Oh Jaysus, she flogged our arses so hard fer that," he recalled as his lips curled into a wide smirk.

Shannon giggled softly and shook her head at the two brothers. "You two were always getting into some sort of trouble," she mused with a happy twinkle in her eyes.

"That we were." Tommy slyly shrugged his shoulders. "I remember how we used 'ta run through the streets stealin' bread, cheese, and apples from the market stands," he said.

"An' we knew that mam and da would make us return 'em, so we'd eat it all before we got home an' end up throwing it up on the doorstep because we were so full," Joseph laughed.

"The villagers called ye the Ryan Rogues." Shannon rolled her eyes. "An' I'm pretty sure it wasn't a compliment," she added.

Tommy looked at his fiancé and smirked. "Hey now, I remember you used to help me steal plenty o' things, Miss Innocent," he teased her.

Shannon looked back at her fiancé with a glare. "Only because ye made me," she teased him back.

Joseph chuckled at this. "Oh I remember the time when you two, the MacShane kid, me, an O'Roarke before he was a murdered bastard, snuck into Mr. and Mrs. O'Roarke's closet to try on their all of their fancy clothes to see what it'd be like to be rich fer a day," he reminisced with a mischievous grin. "I honestly think it was on that day that I became a bit corrupt, wantin' the rich life fer m'self," he added, an edge of sadness in his voice as he remembered all the horrible things he'd done afterwards.

Tommy bust out laughing. "Shite, I remember that too, that was fun!" he exclaimed, picturing himself in one of Mr. O'Roarke's finest tailored suits.

Shannon giggled again. "Oh yes, I remember that day very well," she mused, recalling how beautiful she felt in Mrs. O'Roarke's dresses despite the fact that they were much too big on her.

"Eye, it was fun fer you two an' the others...but fer me, it was the day I went corrupt an' turned into the biggest jerk face in the village," Joseph snickered, shaking his head. "I was a right bastard back then an' I seriously wish I could go back an' apologize to everyone I ever wronged," he added.

"You'll get to apologize someday, don't worry," Shannon said reassuringly. "But fer now, we forgive ye, the past is the past."

"Eye, the past is the past," Tommy agreed calmly. "Yer redeemed in our eyes at least."

The Irish sweethearts shared a glance and nodded at the same time, as if to tell each other they felt the same way about forgiving the elder Ryan brother. They weren't ones to hold grudges, and Joseph's apology had been sincere enough for them. They were sure that their families and the others back home would one day forgive him too, once he got back home to share his apology with the rest of Dunfanaghy Village.

Joseph smiled warmly at them. "Thanks, it means a lot to me to have me family back...fer good, no more Joseph the jerk face," he chuckled softly.

It really did mean so much to him that his younger brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law had decided to forgive him and accept him back into the family. He knew that America was a whole different world, and it was a relief for him not to have to enter it on his own.

"Ye were quite a jerk face, it'd be a lie to deny it, but that's all right...we're happy to have ye back too." Tommy squeezed his brother's hand, a warm grin on his handsome face.

"Eye, we're very happy to have ye back." Shannon's bright eyes twinkled in the dim lighting of the infirmary.

"Thanks," Joseph said again. Suddenly, a dark thought dawned on him, and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. It had been hours since he'd last seen his evil ex-partner, and he began to wonder if he was being hunted down or worse; watched. "Er... I have to go check somethin'," he muttered, scrambling out of his chair and darting out of the infirmary.

"Where the bloody hell are ye going?" Tommy shouted after him, but he was already long gone.

Incredibly afraid of being found by the criminal mastermind, Carrick Mooney, Joseph ran across the third class deck and through a 'crew only' door that led down to the ship's cargo hold. Surrounded by nothing but luggage and mail crates, he let out a sigh of relief.

He felt bad leaving his brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law so abruptly, but he'd been overcome by intense fear of being found. _Perhaps I'm being silly _He thought, putting a hand to his forehead and letting out a shuddering sob. _But at the same time, perhaps I'm not... Oh God, I know he's looking for me..._

...

After searching the entirety of the upper decks for his cowardly ex-partner, Carrick realized where he'd have to check next, and he let out a disgusted snort. He was not keen on the idea of mingling with the third class passengers, but he had to make sure that if his partner was still alive, he couldn't tell a single soul of what they'd done throughout the past five years.

Shaking his head, he descended a flight of stairs down to the third class section of the ship, holding his nose as he went.

...

Now alone in the infirmary, the Irish sweethearts were engaged in a passionate lip-lock. After all that they had endured in the past few hours, they wanted nothing more than to hold each other and never let go.

Shannon was once again crying softly. "I can't believe how close I came t-to losin' ye, love," she whimpered.

Tommy gently kissed away her tears. "But ye didn't, sweet, I'm right here... I'm a big, strong Irishman, tough as nails...I'm a survivor," he cooed.

"I love ye so much," Shannon wept, snuggling into his soft shirt.

"I love ye more," Tommy whispered, stroking her hair.

"C-Can we talk about Chicago?" Shannon asked quietly, intertwining her fingers with his.

"Of course we can," Tommy replied softly, pressing his lips against her hand.

Shannon hugged him tightly and smiled. "So tell me again what it's going to be like," she said in a faint giggle. "I just want to hear yer voice."

Tommy kissed her gently and grinned. "I'll get a job as a longshoreman, unloading the boats on the Lake Michigan Harbor. We'll get married right away and start makin' babies. You'll do the cooking and cleaning while I'm away, an' when I get back home in the evenings, we'll have our cuddle time... we'll be so poor but so happy, an' then we'll go back 'ta Ireland in a few years an' see our families again, an' it'll be so grand..." he explained in a low whisper.

"I'm so happy, Tommy," Shannon told him.

"I'm happier, Shanny," Tommy told her back.

They cuddled in their warm embrace and kissed again. They were so happy and relieved to be alive together, and suddenly, their hormones began to act up as well as they were both overcome with an intense feeling of lust for each other that was stronger than usual. They needed to once again make love as they had that night in the Titanic's cargo hold.

Smirking, Tommy slowly started to reach up her skirt. "Look at ye, gorgeous, I could eat ye up," he whispered.

With a giggle, Shannon reached into his trousers. "Then why don't ye?" she teased. "I wouldn't mind."

Tommy moaned in pleasure as she stroked his precious jewels. "No fair, ye know that's a man's weakness," he mumbled.

Shannon smirked widely as his eyes glazed over at her touches. "Then why don't ye get me back?" she simpered.

"Way ahead of ye," Tommy whispered as he started to tickle her over her knickers.

"Oh God, yes," Shannon whimpered as she kissed him again. "Hurry, pull the curtains..."

...

Meanwhile, Carrick had searched the entire third class deck for his ex-partner, but with no luck. Tired and angry, he stomped back towards the stairs, when a sudden thought occurred to him... why not check the cargo hold? In a place where things could be stored, they could surely be hidden there as well.

He slowly descended the stairs down to the Carpathia's cargo hold and waited for any sign of human activity. A movement. A breath. Anything at all that could give the old coward Joseph Ryan's hiding spot away. As ridiculous as he felt searching down there, he knew he had to be thorough, because if his ex-partner was still alive and he didn't find him... he'd be in some hot water.

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I'm torturing you Jack/Rose lovers for one more chapter... I'm sorry XD You'll find out Jack's fate in the next chapter I promise!

Your feedback means the world to me!


	42. Of Roughness and Reunions

**A/N: Thanks to spikessweetgirl75 for the nice review and to everyone currently favoriting and following this story... it means a lot! :D**

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_Of Roughness and Reunions_

Shannon kissed her fiancé's sweaty bare chest and smiled happily. "I love the way ye make love to me," she giggled.

Tommy grinned wilily and stroked his fiancé's long sweaty hair. "I just love makin' love to ye," he whispered.

"I have to admit, I'm a bit surprised that the nurses didn't catch us," Shannon mused, snuggling against him and pulling their blanket up higher to cover them. She'd half expected someone to throw open the curtains and make them leave the infirmary.

"Eye, that would have been something to see for sure." Tommy smirked, planting a soft kiss on her face and fluffing up their pillow. He'd have liked to see the look on someone's face if they had opened the curtains and saw them.

"We'd have gotten in lots of trouble," Shannon cooed, slowly walking her fingers up his chest. "Because yer a very bad boy... and I'm a very bad girl."

"That's very true," Tommy whispered, gently sliding his hand up her leg. "We've always been troublemakers, haven't we?"

Shannon flashed him a faint smile and nodded. "Mhmm," she simpered, intertwining her fingers with his.

Tommy smirked widely at her and laughed. "The worst kind, too," he commented, pressing his lips against hers.

"I remember the time ye stole three potatoes from Mrs. O'Leary...I'd never seen an old lady run that fast to get her damn potatoes back," Shannon reminisced, kissing his fingers.

"And I remember the time ye stole a mouse from Mr. Connelly an' tried to keep it as a pet...yer mam had a bloody fit," Tommy recalled, pulling her closer.

"We were horrible children." Shannon giggled softly as she began to caress his face.

"Eye, we really were." Tommy grinned happily as he started to kiss her neck.

...

Joseph crouched behind a large wooden crate as he watched his evil ex-partner survey the surrounding area. He sucked in a deep breath and held it, knowing full well that the slightest noise would give him away. _Come on... go back up the stairs... _He prayed desperately.

He was genuinely scared for his life at this point, as he could see that Carrick was holding a pistol behind his back, and knew that he wouldn't hesitate to shoot him if he got caught. Overcome by fear and anxiety, he accidentally exhaled loudly.

At this, Carrick turned abruptly on his heels, and the two young Irishmen made eye contact. Desperate to escape, Joseph darted across the room and tackled his old partner to the ground, knocking the gun out of his hands.

"YE SONOFABITCH!" Carrick roared, punching his ex-partner square in the jaw.

"BLOODY BASTARD!" Joseph yelled, inserting a hard blow to his old colleague's stomach.

"I'm going to finish you right now, Joey... and then... I'm going to go after yer poor wee family," Carrick hissed, his bright green eyes glazed over with insanity.

"Yer not going to do anything of the sort, Rick-o...because...I'm going to finish you first," Joseph growled, his pale face beet red and sweaty.

Carrick smirked. "The final confrontation, eh?"

Joseph nodded. "Eye."

With that, the two men pounced on each other and began to beat each other as hard as they could. The winner would keep his life and the loser would be no longer.

Carrick grabbed a glass bottle out of an open crate and smashed it against the side of his ex-colleague's head. "TAKE THAT, YE COWARD!"

Joseph proceeded to pick up one of the crates and empty it, before throwing it as hard as he could at his old partner. "FECK YERSELF!"

"I HATE YE!"

"NOT AS MUCH AS I HATE YOU!"

"GO TO HELL, YE LIMEY BASTARD!"

"I'LL SEE YE DOWN THERE!"

Finally, after God only knew how many minutes, both of them collapsed to the floor of the cargo hold. The side of Joseph's head was gushing blood and Carrick had been severely cut and bruised in several places.

Carrick groaned miserably. "This isn't over."

Joseph hissed in pain. "Oh, it's over all right."

Right in that moment, however, a crew member discovered the two injured Irishmen. "Excuse me, what the hell are you gentlemen doing down here?" he demanded furiously, grabbing them by their shirt collars. "Come on, we'll get you to the first class infirmary."

...

Back in the third class infirmary, the Irish sweethearts were cuddling in their tiny bed. So far, none of the nurses had even come to check in on them, so they hadn't been caught in bed together. They just laid there warm, cozy, and happy. They were so in-love.

Tommy planted a soft kiss on his fiancé's lips. "I wouldn't mind staying like this until we get 'ta New York," he said in a low whisper.

Shannon gently rubbed noses with her fiancé. "Eye, I'm enjoying this arrangement quite a lot," she replied in a quiet purr.

"Yer brother's been gone a long time now. I wonder if he's found Jack or Fabri yet," Tommy mused, a twinkle of curiosity in his warm pools of hazel.

"Hmm. I'm not entirely sure, I hope so," Shannon responded, a soft smile playing on her lips.

"Me too, they're good fellas," Tommy commented, stretching his arms and letting out a big yawn.

"Eye, they really are," Shannon agreed, brushing a loose strand of hair out of her face.

"I love ye so much." Tommy grinned widely as he snuggled his face into her neck and kissed her.

"I love ye too." Shannon giggled softly as she buried her face in his chest and ruffled his hair.

Suddenly, their curtains were thrown open, and an elderly nurse tisked at them. "All right, boy, yer free to go... we need this bed for another passenger," she said. "Up you go now...and put some clothes on." With that, she walked away again, shaking her head as she went. The Irish sweethearts just looked at each other and laughed.

Tommy snickered as he scrambled back into his trousers and threw his shirt back on. "I knew it was too good to be true, someone had to catch us eventually."

Shannon giggled as she pulled her skirt back on and re-buttoned her blouse. "Eye, that's how it always is, isn't it?"

"Eye." Tommy flashed a wily smirk, embracing her in a hug.

"Come on, let's go and find me brother," Shannon suggested with a smile, taking his hand.

With that, the lovebirds made their way out onto the sunny third class deck and looked around for Rory. Sure enough, they spotted him on the opposite end of the deck, sitting on one of the benches with their friends. They quickly walked over to join them.

Noticing that her little brother looked incredibly glum, Shannon asked, "What's the matter, Rory?"

Rory looked up at his big sister with tears in his eyes and responded, "We can't find him anywhere, Shannon."

"I'm assuming yer talking about Jack?" Tommy piped up. He shook his head sadly and looked down at his feet. "I thought fer sure he'd have survived, he was so fulla life, so strong and determined..."

"Have ye looked everywhere?" Shannon asked. Tears were now forming in her eyes as well. "I can only imagine poor Rose's reaction if he didn't make it..."

"Eye, everywhere on this deck...but since we aren't allowed on the upper decks, we've assumed he wouldn't be up there either," Rory answered. He ran a hand through his fluffy red hair and sighed. "I feel horrible if he didn't make it."

"He's got to be here somewhere," Tommy said, putting his arm around his fiancé's waist and kissing her softly. He couldn't imagine their sandy-haired friend not surviving, as he seemed so strong so it just didn't make sense to him.

"Let's do a prayer circle," Shannon suggested, resting her head on her fiancé's shoulder and smiling at him. She remembered the ones they had used to do back in their village whenever one of their neighbors was sick, and she thought that it may be helpful.

"That's a good idea, I remember we cured Mr. Healy that way," Rory agreed. He turned to the group and said, "One of our neighbors back home was real sick with a high fever once... and we didn't think he was going to pull through, so all of us villagers gathered in a big prayer circle, and the next morning he was good as new."

"It was a miracle, really," Shannon added with a smile. "So maybe if we all hold hands and pray, Jack will come to us."

"Eye, it's worth a shot," Tommy agreed with a nod. "What do ye think?"

Fabrizio nodded as well. "Sí we try it," he replied excitedly. He would do absolutely anything in the world to get his best mate back.

Helga smiled at her friends. "Vi get Rose, ja?" she suggested, nodding off into the distance. They all turned to see what she was talking about, and saw a ginger-haired lady wrapped up in one of the large plaid blankets. She appeared to be shaking as she cried softly into her hands.

"That would be a good idea, sure, but how do ye know that's her?" Tommy asked, shifting awkwardly on his heels. "Lots a' people have red hair on this ship," he explained.

"That er Rose," Helga insisted, nodding her head eagerly. "Gå look," she prodded. She seemed to know something that none of the others did.

Tommy rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Eye, I'll go check," he agreed, somewhat reluctantly, as he was afraid of disturbing some stranger.

They all watched as he slowly shuffled over and tapped the young lady's shoulder. Sure enough, upon her turning around, they all saw that it was indeed Rose. Her eyes were blood-shot from crying and her face was beet red, but otherwise she appeared to be just fine.

"Hey, Rose," Tommy said slowly.

"Hello, Tommy," Rose replied with a sniffle.

"Er... we're still looking fer Jack, ye haven't seen him, have you?" Tommy asked, shifting awkwardly on his feet.

"No, I haven't... I don't think he made it," Rose responded, immediately bursting into tears.

Tommy's eyes widened and he put his hands in his pockets, unsure of what to do. He was used to comforting Shannon when she cried, but that was different because he was in love with her. He didn't feel comfortable putting his arms around any other girl besides his fiancé.

Shannon noticed this from across the deck and slowly walked over to them. She sat down beside Rose and gently put her arms around her. "Shh, it's going to be all right," she soothed her. "We're going to do a prayer circle for Jack, maybe we can find him if we pray hard enough," she explained softly.

"Yeah, it's worth a shot," Tommy piped up, clearing his throat nervously.

"Thank you, but he's gone," Rose wept quietly, burying her face in her friend's blouse.

"Hey now, we once cured a very sick man back home by doing a prayer circle," Shannon said. "His name was David Healy and he was always gettin' sick, and one time, he got an abnormally high fever and all the doctors thought he was a goner. But us villagers had other plans. We gathered together in prayer and by the very next morning, Mr. Healy was fine," she told her gently.

"Eye, it's true, we cured him right well," Tommy added. "So we're thinking maybe God spared ole Jack-o after all, all we've got to do is pray a wee bit harder...together," he explained slowly.

Rose sniffled and wiped her nose on the blanket. "All right, let's try it," she agreed. "I just hope to God he's still alive... otherwise, I don't even know what to do with myself right now."

Shannon stood up slowly and snuggled back against her fiancé's strong chest. "Come, let's go form a circle," she said softly, motioning for the ginger-haired girl to follow them.

With that, they walked back across the deck and all held hands in one big circle with their friends. They appointed Rory the leader in prayer, and then began. "Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on Earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever...Amen," he started and everyone else echoed him.

"Dear Heavenly Father, please spare our good friend Jack Dawson. For he is a good man who is full of life. He has so much yet to live for and has left so much behind if he does not survive. Please, oh Lord, spare our good friend Jack Dawson," they finished.

"Do you really think Jack will come to us now?" Rose asked with a sniffle, a twinkle of hope shone in her teary green eyes.

"Look fer yerself," Tommy responded with a wide grin, pointing ahead.

They all looked to see what he was pointing at, and sure enough, Jack was coming towards them with a huge smile across his boyishly handsome face. "JACK!" The prayer circle had worked.

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Please do tell me what you think! Your feedback means the world to me! :)


	43. Partying on the Rescue Ship

**A/N: Thanks to spikessweetgirl75 and PaulWalkerlover73 for your nice reviews and to everyone favoriting and following this story!**

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_Partying on the Rescue Ship_

Once everyone had expressed their gratitude that Jack was alive, they all huddled up in a corner of the third class deck to continue talking about their plans for when they got to the promise land. It was getting late now and the sun had already started to set over the ocean. It was truly a beautiful sight.

Shannon rested her head against her fiancé's strong chest. "It's so peaceful out here, love," she mused.

Tommy nodded and kissed her softly on the lips. "Eye, it really is, sweet," he agreed.

Rory smiled warmly at the couple, happy that they were so in-love. However, it was also starting to gross him out a bit, so he decided to start the conversation. "So... what's everyone's plans now that we've all survived the shipwreck together?" he prodded curiously, a wide grin across his face. "Me and the sweethearts over here are going to Chicago. We'll have a real nice time there for a bit, I think I'll try to get a job selling papers and bread too, and then we'll go back to Ireland to be with our families again in a few years," he said.

Tommy nodded eagerly. "Eye. As I've said before, I want to get work as a longshoreman, unloading boats on the harbor and such. And Shanny and I are going to have six wee babies, we've decided, so we're going to start right away as soon as I can get a job," he explained with a wide grin.

Shannon smiled softly. "I know Tommy will find a good job very soon, he's a hard worker. And I can't wait to start having his babies," she added with a faint giggle.

Looking at each other, the Irish sweethearts leaned in and shared another passionate kiss as they cuddled together in their large plaid blanket. The sky was darkening more and more by the minute and a cool breeze swept across the deck.

Rory rolled his eyes and laughed. "How about you two?" he wanted to know, looking directly at the forbidden lovers. They had defied the odds and ended up together, despite their opposite social classes and the tragic sinking that could've just claimed their lives.

"I'm going to stay with Jack. I don't care about my old life, I've always wanted to escape it, and this is my one true chance," Rose explained. "We'll be like gypsies I suppose, wandering around the world, experiencing life as it comes at us," she said with a mischievous grin.

"Yeah, and it'll be amazing because we'll be together, making it count," Jack added with a wide smile.

"That's great." Rory nodded his head and looked at the interethnic lovebirds. "And you two, what will you do when the ship docks?" he asked.

"I follow bella Helga and her family to Minnesota," Fabrizio replied happily. "I a' find some work on their farm and we make some bambinos too," he explained.

"Ja, jeg gjør mange babyer med Fabrizio," Helga added with a giggle. She didn't care what her parents would say, she loved him and couldn't wait for their future together, as it seemed to be nothing but bright.

"That sounds absolutely grand," Rory mused softly, picking a loose thread off of his sock. "So now that we know what we're all gonna do, how about some funny stories?" he suggested. He thought that after everything they had all been through, some good old stories might do to lighten the mood even more.

"You've got one, don't ye, love?" Shannon giggled softly, looking up at her smirking fiancé.

"Eye, I've got a bunch of 'em," Tommy laughed in reply, kissing his fiancé on the lips again.

Jack was grinning from ear to ear. "Well go on, do tell us one," he prodded teasingly. "The more embarrassing the better," he added with a smirk of his own.

Tommy shot him a joking glare and nodded. "Eye, I'll give the crowd what they want," he agreed, scratching his chin as he searched his memories for a good one. "Ah, I remember..." he started with a grin.

"Go ahead," Fabrizio chuckled, his eyes glimmering with excitement.

"So one time last year, me and Shanny were on a picnic with our good friend Ricky MacShane. We were eating potatoes, cheese, and fruit, and it was delicious. Anyways, Ricky could sense that me and me sweet over here were starting to have feelings fer each other, so he wanted to mess with us. He dared me to kiss her on the mouth, but I was so nervous that when I leaned in to do so, I pissed myself...now that's about as embarrassing as something could get, a grown man pissin' his pants," Tommy told them, shaking his head as he remembered what a nervous fool he used to be around his beautiful fiancé.

"His face was as red as me grandmam's tomatoes," Shannon giggled, scratching her nose. "But he was so adorable about it that I couldn't be too disgusted with him, I felt bad fer him, actually... and that's when I realized that he may have had feelings fer me too," she added with a soft smile, recalling the good old days back home when her handsome fiancé used to get so nervous around her.

"I never even heard that story, that's hysterical!" Rory bust out laughing. He could only imagine what it had been like when it happened and was suddenly incredibly put-out that he hadn't been there to see it for himself.

"Yeah, not for me though." Tommy scowled jokingly. He'd been embarrassed beyond belief that he'd wet himself in front of his fiancé right as he leaned in to kiss her.

"You were adorable," Shannon whispered softly. She'd honestly found it sort of cute that her fiancé had wet himself over kissing her.

The Irish sweethearts rubbed noses and pulled their blanket tighter around them, as another gust of cool sea air swept across the deck. They wanted nothing more than to kiss and cuddle for the rest of the night.

Jack shook his head as he choked on his laughter. "Holy shit, I can't believe you pissed yourself," he commented with a smirk. He so wished he had been there to see the look on his friend's face.

"Eye shut yer mouth," Tommy said, slapping his friend's shoulder. He didn't appreciate all of their teasing, as it wasn't his fondest memory.

"That is molto divertente!" Fabrizio chuckled, smacking his knee.

"Shush." Tommy glared jokingly at him.

"Don't mind them, love," Shannon giggled faintly. "A real man isn't afraid to admit his weakest moments." She'd noticed that all of the other men's teasing was starting to give her fiancé a bruised ego, so she wanted to make him feel better.

"That's true, isn't it, sweet?" Tommy laughed lowly. "And ye know a real man also loves his lady more than the world itself." He realized what his fiancé was trying to do, and he loved her so much for it.

"Yer too sweet fer yer own good," Shannon whispered, rubbing noses with him again.

"And yer so pretty ye must be a goddess," Tommy whispered back, kissing her on the lips.

Rory rolled his eyes at them. "Yuck. And I'm going to have to live with this fer the next few years," he piped up.

Fabrizio grinned widely as he wrapped an arm around his girlfriend. "Ah ragazzo mio, it is amore, you cannot control it," he laughed, kissing her softly.

Helga giggled softly as she snuggled against her boyfriend's chest. "Ja, elsker er elsker," she added, hugging him tightly.

"Oh Jaysus, love is in the air," Rory teased, shaking his head. As much as he liked his friends, all of their lovey-dovey stuff was starting to rub him the wrong way.

"That is is." Jack smirked widely and laughed as he pulled his own girlfriend close. "Someday you'll understand."

"Eye. When ye get a lass of yer own," Tommy snickered, a wily twinkle shining in his eyes.

"Yeah, it'll definitely be awhile before I even look at a girl," Rory laughed, shaking his head again.

"Yer looking at me," Shannon giggled, wagging her finger at him.

"That's different and ye know it," Rory said, rolling his eyes at her.

He was truthfully a bit scared to find a girl to start courting. He'd seen Tommy do it with his sister for years, but it seemed different because they were meant to be together. Also, he was still stuck in the stage of his life were he thought girls outside of his own family were gross.

Rose smiled at the younger boy. "Don't worry, you still have plenty of time," she said, a soothing edge in her voice.

Rory grinned at the elder girl. "See, she understands me!" He shot a joking glare at everyone else. "Anyways, who else has got a funny story?"

"She does," Tommy piped up with a smirk, nodding at his blushing fiancé.

"Oh Jaysus, this should be good," Rory laughed, an eager twinkle in his eyes.

Shannon rolled her eyes at her two favorite boys and began her story. "So fer those of you who don't know, I used 'ta have a mouse named Squeakers that I stole and kept as a pet. He was so cute and cuddly but all me friends were scared of him, it was sad that they didn't love him as much as I did, really. Anyways, one day when he reached a good old age fer a mouse, he decided to hide in me mam's spice cabinet as his final resting place. When Mam came home from the market and opened up the spice cabinet, she found him there and nearly had a heart attack. She spilled her fresh spices everywhere and then slipped in it... she had a bloody fit, I've never heard her scream so loud since," she explained, giggling as she pictured the incident.

Jack laughed out loud. "Shit, I'll bet she was really happy with you when she found out where it came from," he commented.

"Oh yes, she was absolutely thrilled," Rory chimed in, shaking his head. "Squeakers was a good mouse... but once Mam got a hold of him, his final resting place ended up being the garbage next to a rotten potato peel."

"That's a' pazzo!" Fabrizio chuckled, slapping his knee again.

"I still remember that day," Tommy laughed. "Shanny came crying to me that her mouse was gone, and then all of the sudden, ye could hear her mam let out this blood curling shriek... it was hilarious," he explained with a smirk.

"Wow." Rose couldn't help but let out a giggle of her own. "I never knew you could keep mice as pets," she commented.

"Oh yes, ye can, they're actually quite adorable," Shannon responded, smiling happily as she remembered her beloved pet. "I want our children 'ta have a pet mouse too," she added, looking up at her fiancé with a hopeful twinkle in her eyes.

"That wouldn't be my choice of a first pet, but whatever makes ye happy," Tommy replied with a teasing eye roll at his fiancé.

He knew that ever since Squeakers came into her life, a mouse would forever be Shannon's favorite animal. As hard as they were to maintain and keep clean, he had to admit that they did make for really cute, sweet pets.

The group of seven sat there quietly for a few seconds before suddenly, the slow howl of a uileann pipe warming up could be heard not too far off in the distance, and they looked up to see Mick Hannigan sitting on one of the benches alongside a few other passengers with instruments.

Shannon's eyes lit up in delight. "They're going to play fer us!" she exclaimed.

Tommy grinned excitedly. "Eye, another celebration!" he mused. "Will ye dance with me, Princess?" he asked, slowly getting to his feet.

"I'd love to, Bastard," Shannon giggled, standing up and resting her head against his chest.

"Good." Tommy flashed her a wily smirk.

Rory and the other two couples got up to dance as well as the lively Irish music began to float across the deck. Some passengers had even set up a few tables for beer and poker. It was truly a party in celebration of being alive after one of the most tragic shipwrecks in history.

As the Irish sweethearts skipped along to the lively tunes, they leaned in close to share another passionate kiss. "Yer the prettiest girl I've ever set eyes on and ever will set eyes on," Tommy whispered, sliding his hand down to rest on her arse.

"And yer the handsomest boy I've ever set eyes on and ever will set eyes on," Shannon purred back, gently cupping his precious jewels in her hand through his trousers.

"Naughty Shanny," Tommy scolded gently, kissing her again.

"Bad Tommy," Shannon giggled softly, rubbing noses with him.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"You two are disgusting," Rory laughed, shaking his head as he skipped past them. "Look at me, I'm a leprechaun!" he yelled.

...

Meanwhile in the first class infirmary, Joseph had woken up from a deep slumber to discover that he had three stitches in the side of his head from where his ex-partner had smashed a glass bottle against it.

He looked out the windows to see that it was now dark outside and hardly anyone was roaming around on the deck. Looking back over at his sleeping ex-partner, he realized that it was the perfect opportunity to slip through his despicable fingers once again.

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Please tell me what you think! Your feedback means the world to me! :)

The story is almost over as I've decided to make it 46 chapters total... but don't worry, there is going to be a sequel! :D :D :D


	44. Dancing All Night

**A/N: Thanks to spikessweetgirl75 and MomentForLife for the nice reviews and to everyone who is currently favoriting and following this story!**

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_Dancing All Night_

Joseph slowly climbed out of his bed and slipped his shoes back on. He took one last look at his despicable old colleague, before fleeing the infirmary. God had spared him one more time and he did not intend to waste this escape.

Once out on the deck, he checked both ways to make sure that no one was coming, and ducked behind a wall. He knew that he had to truly blend in with the third class passengers if he was to hide out down there, so that was what he intended to do.

He took off his tattered suit jacket and bowtie and flung them overboard. Then, he unbuttoned his shirt about half way and popped open the collar, to look rougher. Lastly, he tousled his hair, slid off his suspenders straps, and grabbed a bowl of soup that was sitting on a deck chair nearby to splash all over himself so that he'd look greasy and smell.

"There, that should do fer now," he decided with a content grin as he shuffled down the staircase towards the lower decks. "Ole Rick-o won't find me fer a long while now," he snickered, spitting over the rail. If he was going to blend in with the lower class, he'd need to start acting like them a bit more.

As he descended the steps lower and lower, the sweet sound of music from his homeland began to float into his ears, and he grinned widely. _This must be a party going on... it's been forever since I've been to a party like this... five whole years in fact._

He hadn't been to a party with lively Irish music and dancing since he'd left his home five years prior. Needless to say, excitement began to course through his veins, and he lost all control of his feet as they began to move along to the music.

...

The Irish sweethearts continued to dance across the third class deck to the lively tunes. They couldn't wait to start their lives together in the promise land and were especially excited to have more adventures together like they had had back in the good old days in Ireland.

Tommy gazed lovingly into his fiancé's bright blue eyes and kissed her on the lips. "Squeakers really was a good mouse, wasn't he?" he laughed.

Shannon stared adoringly back into her fiancé's warm hazel eyes and rubbed noses with him. "Eye, he really was all right," she giggled.

"Ye know mice only live about a year, so if ye want each of our children to have one, we're gonna need lots of 'em," Tommy mused, softly rubbing her back as he twirled her around the deck.

"I know, but mice are cheap... hell, ye could steal them off the streets," Shannon responded, planting sweet kisses on his face as they danced to the lively music.

"I'll be a good dada and get 'em some mice then," Tommy agreed with a wide grin.

"And I'll be a good mama and make sure they aren't too much trouble," Shannon said with a faint smile.

Tommy let out a low chuckle and kissed her again. "Do ye remember the time ye got mad at Ricky and Squeakers crawled up his leg and into his pants?" he reminisced.

Shannon giggled softly and kissed his face. "I do remember that, and let me just say that Ricky deserved all the tickling that Squeakers gave him," she responded.

"Did he now?" Tommy smirked wilily.

"Eye." Shannon smiled softly.

The happy couple danced in silence for a few seconds, just listening to the music and enjoying each other's company, before Tommy spoke up again. "It's gonna be great fer us in Chicago, I can feel it," he said in a low whisper.

Shannon giggled softly and snuggled into his shirt. "I know it is, it's going to be fantastic," she responded.

"Even though we're poor, I'm goin' to try as hard as I can 'ta give ye everything ye want, because that's what good husbands do fer their wives," Tommy promised her, kissing her fingers.

"I appreciate that, I do, but all I really want from you is our six wee babies and a nice home fer us to live happily ever after in," Shannon told him, ruffling his hair.

"I can do that." Tommy grinned. "Yer an easy one, aren't ye girly?"

"Eye." Shannon giggled. "I don't ask fer much, boyo."

Tommy dipped her gently and then planted a soft kiss on her lips when he brought her back up. "Do ye want to know why I love ye?" he asked.

Shannon hugged him tightly as she planted a tender kiss on his face. "Tell me," she answered.

"Because not only are you the prettiest girl in all the world, but yer also sweet and smart and caring," Tommy explained lowly. "And that's really all a man can ask for."

"Would ye like to know why I love you?" Shannon prodded.

"I would," Tommy replied.

"Because not only are ye the handsomest boy in all the world, but yer also charming and wise and loving," Shannon responded softly. "And that's really all a girl needs."

Just as the current song came to an end, the young lovebirds leaned in and shared another passionate kiss. They broke apart slowly and smiled warmly at each other. They had always been the best of friends and now they were lovers.

Tommy kissed away a tear that formed under her eye. "Why're ye crying, sweet?" he asked gently.

Shannon rubbed noses with him. "Because I'm so in love with you," she responded softly.

"I love you too," Tommy said with a happy grin. "How about some nice, cool beers, yeah?"

"Yeah," Shannon replied with a soft giggle. "That would be nice."

With that, Tommy gently took her arm in his and they walked across the crowded deck to get some beer. There was a bit of a line, but they didn't mind, they were content just standing there together.

Suddenly, the man in front of them turned around, and they realized that it was Joseph. They immediately stared him down, curious as to why he'd left the infirmary so suddenly before.

"Hey, why the hell did ye run out before?" Tommy demanded, an edge of agitation in his voice.

"And what happened to yer head?" Shannon asked, her voice much softer.

Joseph flashed them a sheepish smile as he shifted nervously on his heels. "Er, I ran out before because I was afraid of bein' found by Carrick... I'd been visiting with ye fer a while and I got worried that he'd come looking fer me in there if he'd checked everywhere in the first class part of the ship, y'see. As fer the stitches in me head, well... he tracked me down in the cargo hold and we fought, he smashed a glass bottle against the side a me head," he explained, scratching his chin.

Tommy's eyes widened in shocked disbelief. "Wait, ye mean that psychotic bastard is still after us?" he asked, harshly grabbing his elder brother's shoulders and shaking him.

"Don't worry. I'll keep him far away from ye... I just escaped him again m'self. I've been with the bloke fer five years, I think I know enough about him to outsmart him," Joseph reassured his younger brother, patting him softly on the back.

"Good, because that's the last thing we need right now," Tommy grumbled, putting his hands in his pockets. "I mean bloody hell, man, we're going to have babies soon enough and I don't want that murderous madman anywhere near me family," he added with an annoyed snarl.

"I said don't worry, man! And when I say something, I bloody mean it!" Joseph snapped, clenching his teeth. "I won't let him touch yer babies or yer wife, I'll murder him before he even can," he muttered with an eye roll.

"Ye better promise me now, or God help me..." Tommy started.

"I promise, I swear to God, now shut up," Joseph hissed.

"Relax, both of you, yer acting like madmen yourselves," Shannon interjected.

"I'm sorry, sweet." Tommy stopped himself and kissed his fiancé again. "When it comes to you and our future babies, I get a bit protective, ye know that," he explained softly, hugging her close.

"Sorry." Joseph hung his head and avoided eye contact with his younger brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law. "I swear on everything that is good in the world, I won't let him anywhere near yer family... I'll make sure he stays out of the picture completely," he promised quietly, shuffling his feet.

"Good," Tommy huffed. "Now, how about we get some beers and dance around a bit more, eh?" His scowl turned into a smile and he patted his elder brother on the back.

"I'd like that," Joseph agreed. He hugged his younger brother tightly.

Finally it was their turn in line and they all grabbed a glass of beer, and then walked back out into the middle of the crowded deck for more lively Irish dancing. The next tune, said Mick Hannigan, was called Bill Sullivan's Polka.

Joseph took a large swig of his beer and then set his glass down on the deck, so that he could clap his hands to the music. "It's been ages since I've partied with my people," he mused with a grin.

"Why don't ye get out there and dance then?" Tommy asked with a smirk. He lit a cigarette he'd stolen off the table and popped it into his mouth.

"I would, but I don't have a lass 'ta dance with," Joseph responded, sounding a bit put-out.

Tommy smiled happily. "Here, ye can borrow my lass fer a dance," he offered, stepping away from his fiancé. "If that's all right with you, sweet," he added softly.

Shannon simply nodded. "I don't mind a dance with yer brother," she replied, slowly extending her hand to her soon-to-be brother-in-law. "I don't bite, ye know," she giggled faintly.

"Yer sure?" Joseph looked a bit skeptical as he stepped closer to his brother's fiancé.

"Yes." Shannon smiled at her fiancé's brother.

"Eye, just treat her like a lady," Tommy warned with a sly wink, shooing them off.

"I'll take good care of her, don't ye worry," Joseph replied with a happy laugh, waving at him.

Tommy just grinned as he watched his brother and fiancé start to dance. He wasn't the slightest bit jealous, but rather very trusting of both of them. He knew that Shannon wouldn't dream of being unfaithful to him, as she loved him just as much as he loved her, and he also knew that Joseph wouldn't dare to try anything outside of his rights, because deep down he was a very good man.

Joseph gently dipped his soon-to-be sister-in-law and then brought her back up. "I'm really happy fer you and Tommy," he said with a warm smile. "Yer both good, hard-working people, and it's clear how much ye adore each other."

Shannon smiled back at her soon-to-be brother-in-law. "Thanks, we're excited to start our lives together in the promise land," she replied with a soft giggle.

"I have to admit that I'm a bit envious that I don't get a girl to cook and clean fer me and to have babies with," Joseph laughed, a teasing twinkle in his warm amber eyes. "Me brother has all the fun."

"Well it isn't just about the cooking and cleaning and babies, it's also about loving the other person enough to do all of those things for and with them," Shannon explained, a soft smile playing on her lips. "I wouldn't just cook and clean fer any man, and I certainly wouldn't have his babies unless I loved him."

"Eye, that makes sense, I just hope one day I'll find someone I can love as much as you two love each other then," Joseph said with a wide grin across his face, twirling her around the deck.

"Don't worry, you will," Shannon responded with a twinkle in her bright blue eyes, as she was dipped backwards by him again.

They danced in silence for the remainder of the song and then went back to join Tommy. It was now pitch black out on the ocean, with their only source of light being the small lanterns that hung on the deck's walls.

Tommy embraced his fiancé and kissed her softly. "Did ye miss me, Princess?" he whispered.

Shannon snuggled into her fiancé's strong chest. "More than ye know, Bastard," she cooed.

Joseph wrapped both of them up in a tight hug and grinned. "I missed both of you," he laughed.

Soon enough, after all the steerage passengers had finished off their beers and danced to their hearts' content, their little party came to an end. It was time for them to get some sleep, after all, it had been a long day for them after surviving the sinking. Everyone bid their friends and families goodnight and then headed inside the ship.

...

In the first class infirmary, Carrick tossed and turned in the tiny bed. Even in his slumbering state, he could sense that something wasn't right. He could sense that his ex-partner had once again slipped right through his despicable fingers, but he was far too tired to let the fury claim him.

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Please tell me what you think! Your feedback means the world to me! :)


	45. In An Irish Pub

**A/N: Thanks to spikessweetgirl75 for the nice review and to everyone who has favorited and followed this story! It means so much. This is the last chapter before the epilogue and I sincerely hope you enjoy it.**

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_In An Irish Pub_

_April 20th 1912_

It was now two days after the RMS Carpathia had arrived in New York City with the Titanic survivors. All of the immigrants had gone through Ellis Island, and along with gaining United States citizenship, some survivors had even been given new clothes by other immigrants who had heard about what they'd just been through.

Tommy now wore a pair of khaki colored trousers with a white shirt and navy blue vest, and had even been given a new bowler hat since he'd lost his own during the sinking. Shannon was wearing a floral patterned purple dress and even had a purple flower in her long hair that was given to her by her fiancé. Rory had on a pair of navy blue trousers with a white shirt and gray vest, and Joseph wore a pair of gray trousers with a white shirt and khaki colored vest.

It was a nice night, the lights of the various skyscrapers shone brightly in the darkness, and a cool breeze blew over the city. After parting ways with their friends, the Irish sweethearts and their respective brothers decided to grab a bite to eat at a nearby Irish pub.

"After you, sweet," Tommy said, holding the door open for his fiancé.

"Thank you, love," Shannon replied, walking into the brightly lit pub.

The pub was small on the inside with a large wooden bar counter and several little tables and chairs. Pictures and posters of Irish alcohol logos or famous Irish-Americans hung on the walls along with tiny lanterns that gave the room an orangey-yellowish glow. It was a cozy little place to spend their night and there was an inn upstairs where they could rent rooms to sleep in.

The pub keeper was a tiny old man with a gray mustache, piercing green eyes, and a bowler hat that was far too big on his head. "Good evening, come in from Ellis Island have ye?" he asked in a thick Irish accent.

"We have," Tommy answered in his own thick brogue. He took off his bowler hat and grabbed four coins out of his trousers' pocket, placing them on the bar counter. "Can I get three beers and some warm milk fer the lad?"

"Coming right up." The pub keeper took the coins and poured three glasses of cool, foamy beer as well as a glass of warm milk, and placed them on the counter. He smiled at the happy group and asked, "Did ye hear about that ship that sank in the North Atlantic the other night...the Titanic?"

"Eye, man, we more than heard about it. We survived it," Tommy explained solemnly. "I'd never been in such cold water in me life, and let me tell ye, I hope I never am again." He plopped himself down at the bar and took a swig of beer.

"Jaysus, so you all must've come off that rescue ship called Carpathia, eh?" The pub keeper shook his head, his eyes wide in disbelief. "Please, have some warm potato porridge, on me," he insisted, going over and taking the lid off of a pot and spooning some warm soupy liquid into four bowls.

"Thank ye very much." Tommy smiled widely as he gently pulled his fiancé into his lap. "I'm Tommy Ryan and the pretty lassie here is Shannon O'Neal, we're engaged," he said, extending his hand across the counter for the old pub keeper to shake.

"Hello there." Shannon giggled softly as she snuggled her head against her fiancé's chest and let the old pub keeper kiss her hand.

"And I'm Joey Ryan." Joseph grinned happily as he too extended his hand over the counter.

"The name's Rory O'Neal," Rory piped up, not wanting to be forgotten as he extended his hand as well.

"Jimmy O'Hare, it's nice to meet all o' ye," the old pub keeper said, shaking each of their hands in turn. He put the steaming bowls of potato porridge on the counter in front of them. "Eat up now, and if ye need a place 'ta sleep tonight, there's rooms fer rent upstairs at the inn," he added.

"Thanks a million, man. It's nice to meet you as well," Joseph responded, swallowing a huge gulp of his beer. "I hate to be rude, but would you by chance have an ciggies I could buy offa you?" he asked as an afterthought.

"Eye, that sounds nice. I'm craving a smoke too." Tommy smiled sheepishly as he took a spoonful of his porridge.

"Sure thing." Jimmy grinned widely and pulled two freshly rolled cigarettes out of his pocket. "Here ye are, lads," he said, lighting them and handing one to each of the brothers.

Joseph took a long drag and exhaled deeply. "Eye, that hits the spot now," he sighed contently.

Tommy nodded and blew out a thin line of smoke. "It does, thank ye," he agreed happily.

"Please blow that shite in the other direction though," Shannon whined, fanning the smoke away from her face.

"Oh yeah, sorry about that," Tommy apologized, quickly turning his head to blow his smoke the other way.

Jimmy laughed at the happy young couple. "So," he started, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a pipe. "What part o' the great isle are ye lot coming from anyways?" he asked curiously, lighting it and popping it into his mouth.

Shannon smiled at the old pub keeper. "Donegal," she answered politely, slowly sipping her beer. "More specifically, Dunfanaghy," she added as an afterthought.

"Eye. I'm from Tyrone m'self. Edenderry to be exact," Jimmy explained, putting on a small pair of golden spectacles. "I moved to the United States about twenty years ago," he said, scratching his chin thoughtfully.

"A fellow Northern Irishman, I like it." Joseph grinned happily, slapping his hands down against the bar counter.

"Eye, we stick together, don't we?" Tommy laughed softly, kissing the side of his fiancé's face.

"That we do." Jimmy chuckled heartily, swishing the pipe around in his mouth. He finished smoking it and then snuffed it out saying, "Eat up you lot and I'll turn on some good ole tunes on me radio here." He nodded towards an old radio sitting on the far edge of the bar counter.

Hearing this, Rory's eyes lit up in delight, and he quickly downed the rest of his potato porridge and warm milk. "That was delicious!" he yelled, letting out a loud belch and patting his stomach.

Tommy shook his head and laughed. "I'm surprised ye didn't choke ye ate that so fast!" he exclaimed, putting down his cigarette and chugging the rest of his beer. He then proceeded to pick up his bowl of porridge and dump it down his throat, swallowing hard.

Shannon rolled her eyes in disgust. "Ye men eat and drink like bloody pigs!" she scolded, taking a small spoonful of porridge and a slow sip of beer.

Joseph's lips curled into a wide smirk as he set his cigarette down. "We're just trying to hurry up so we can dance fer a bit," he explained, all but spilling his porridge and beer everywhere trying to finish it.

"Disgusting," Shannon muttered under her breath.

"Eye, we are, but we're also lovable," Tommy whispered in her ear.

"Oh hush yer mouth." Shannon giggled, snuggling up against him.

"Gladly." Tommy smirked, kissing her softly.

...

Meanwhile on the other side of the city, Carrick paced back and forth in his tiny hotel room, absolutely boiling with fury. He hadn't been able to track down his cowardly ex-partner since they'd both ended up in the Carpathia's infirmary, and he was incredibly worried about being caught and jailed for their crimes.

No matter what it would take, he promised himself that he would find and murder Joseph Ryan. "I'll come back fer ye, ye bloody coward," he hissed, a twinkle of insanity in his bright green eyes.

"Yer gonna be sorry ye ever ran away from me," he mumbled, shuffling across the room and taking out a blank piece of parchment and a pen. He scribbled a reminder to himself in his messy handwriting; _Find Joseph and don't let him escape with his life again. Whatever it takes._

_..._

Back at the pub, Jimmy had turned on his radio, which was now blasting lively Irish music. Several more Irish immigrants, many of them Titanic survivors such as Mr. and Mrs. Hannigan, had made their way in for a bite and a drink and everyone was now dancing happily around the crowded room.

Joseph and Rory had found a table in the back corner of the room, and were now clapping their hands and tapping their feet along to the music as they watched the sweethearts dance.

Tommy held his fiancé close as they skipped around to the lively tunes. "We're finally here, Princess, this is the promise land," he whispered excitedly.

Shannon nestled against her fiancé's strong chest. "I know, Bastard, it's so exciting," she purred happily.

It had not been an easy voyage across the Atlantic for them, so they were both overjoyed to finally be in the promise land, safe and unharmed. They were also grateful that they had gotten the opportunity to reconcile with Joseph, whom they otherwise may have never seen again.

They leaned in and shared yet another passionate kiss. Soon enough, the current song came to an end, and the people in the pub milled about to get more food and beer or to talk to each other.

Tommy flashed a wily smirk as he lowered his hand down to her arse. "Come 'ere," he cooed, leading her off the dance floor and into a dark corner on the other end of the room. "I thought that we could hide out back here fer a bit, eye?"

Shannon flashed a giddy smile as she nodded her head against his chest. "Eye, now kiss me," she whispered, reaching down and cupping his precious jewels again. "Yer lips are so soft."

Both of them were feeling their youthful hormones kicking in again, and since they couldn't very well make love in the middle of the pub, they settled for kissing and gently caressing each other in the corner.

"Look at those two." Rory rolled his eyes as he watched them from across the room, sipping another glass of warm milk.

"Eye, just get used to it." Joseph shook his head and took another huge gulp of his beer.

Rory shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He greatly looked up to Tommy and liked him a lot, but it still bothered him a bit to see him feeling-up his beloved elder sister, as he was incredibly protective of her despite the fact that she could easily take care of herself.

Joseph lit another cigarette and popped it into his mouth. He didn't much care to watch his younger brother feeling-up and kissing Shannon, but it didn't really phase him. He'd always been good about minding his own business.

Rory scratched his chin awkwardly. "Er... I think I'm going to get some more potato porridge," he said, to which the older man simply nodded.

As he made his way up towards the bar again, something caught his eye, and he stopped in his tracks. Backing up a few steps, he noticed that a blonde-haired girl was huddled up underneath one of the tables, crying softly into the skirt of her tattered pink dress. He'd been raised by his mother to always be chivalrous, and this girl was certainly a damsel in distress.

"Er... excuse me, what's wrong?" he asked curiously, kneeling down on the floor.

"Me parents...they aren't alive no more," she answered sadly, without looking up.

"What...er...what happened to them?" Rory wanted to know, sitting back on his heels.

"That ship that sank...Titanic...they didn' make it," the girl explained, lifting her head for the first time.

Hearing this, Rory's heart dropped to his stomach. Being on that very ship himself, he could easily relate to her traumatic experience, and could only imagine what it would feel like to lose his parents on top of that. At least his family had survived, hers didn't.

He shook his head, his eyes wide in shocked disbelief. "Jaysus, I was on that ship too. I'm so sorry 'ta hear that that happened to yer parents," he said, his voice cracking a bit.

The girl's eyes popped right open at this. "Ye were on it too?" she asked, choking back her tears.

"Eye. Well, I snuck on at the last minute. I was following me big sister," Rory answered, snickering into his arm.

"W-Wasn't it scary when the ship hit that big piece a' ice?" the girl inquired, shaking where she sat.

"Eye, 'twas terrifyin'," Rory responded, shaking his head.

"M-My name is Mary Fitzgerald," the girl said, slowly extending her hand towards him.

"Nice to meet ye, I'm Rory O'Neal," Rory replied, gently offering his hand and shaking hers.

Mary shifted awkwardly where she was and brushed a loose strand of her flyaway hair out of her face. "Me da helped build the Titanic," she stated quietly. "We were comin' from Belfast 'cause me da got us cheaper tickets since he worked fer the shipyard. It was such a beautiful ship, even though we were in the third class part, and it was like a dream come true to travel to the promise land on a ship me da helped out with... but then it sank, an' I lost everytheen', including him," she explained, her voice cracking with devastation.

Rory nervously twiddled his thumbs as he listened intently. "I'm really sorry 'ta hear that," he said slowly. "I come from Donegal me'self and I snuck onto the ship to follow me sister who was followin' her fiancé. I thought it was the grandest ship in the whole wide world until it went down like a big skipping rock, I know I'll never forget that horrible night," he responded, his own voice shaking with fear.

"I-Is yer family all right?" Mary looked up at him, a twinkle of concern in her eyes.

"Eye, they're just fine, they're right over there." Rory smiled warmly at her, his own eyes gleaming with happiness.

"I'm glad that they survived, ye don't want 'ta know what it feels like to be without yer family in a strange land," Mary mused softly, hanging her head.

"Thanks, I don't want to know either, and I keep thanking God fer sparing us," Rory replied quietly, scratching his ear.

Mary nodded. "I don't know where I'll go... I'm ten so perhaps a seamstress shop could take me in, but otherwise, I hope I don't end up alone and cold on the streets," she said, an edge of worry in her sweet voice.

Rory frowned. "Of course ye know where you'll go...y-yer coming to Chicago with us, no one yer age should have to be abandoned to the streets... I'm twelve me'self and I know I couldn't survive alone and cold," he responded in a firm and unyielding tone.

He knew that his sweet and motherly elder sister would take the poor girl in in a heartbeat, and that Tommy wouldn't dare protest if that was what his sister wanted, so he decided to take her over and introduce her to them. After all, if he had been in her situation, he could only hope that someone would offer to take him in and take care of him.

"O-Oh...I-I don't wish to burden you..." Mary stammered, a fearful gleam in her eyes.

"Yer not burdening us at all...me sister will prob'ly enjoy having some company while us men are off at work all day," Rory explained, a warm smile across his face.

At this, Mary nodded and slowly got to her feet. "Erm... all right then," she said, looking at him.

With that, Rory clapped his hands together and pointed across the room. "Come on," he said, grinning at her.

He led her across the room, where the Irish sweethearts had now gone back to their table. His sister sat in Tommy's lap as they continued to kiss and rub noses and Joseph sat across from them, still drinking his beer as he tapped his feet along to the lively tunes.

"Hey," he said, gently pulling on his sister's skirt.

"What is it?" Shannon asked, looking down at her brother.

Rory shifted awkwardly on his feet as his new friend appeared from behind him. "Er... this is Mary Fitzgerald. She was on the Titanic too and her parents were lost with the ship, I told her that she could come and live with us so she doesn't have to be cold and alone on the streets...she's only ten," he explained quickly, leaving no room for protests.

Hearing this, Shannon slowly slid out of her chair and knelt down beside the young girl. "Oh ye poor, sweet girl... of course ye can come live with us," she cooed, wrapping her up in a tight hug. She looked at her fiancé pleadingly.

Tommy nodded his head and squatted down next to his fiancé and the young girl. "Does she have no other family?" he asked softly.

"I-I've got an uncle in Boston...b-but he and me da didn' get along...I-I don't think he'd take me," Mary stuttered, looking afraid.

"I see," Tommy mused slowly, scratching the stubble on his chin.

"We have to take her," Shannon insisted firmly, brushing a loose strand of hair out of her face.

"All right, we'll take ye in," Tommy agreed, gently patting the young girl's back. As much as he worried about the number of mouths he'd have to feed, he knew that he'd never forgive himself for leaving some poor child to the streets, and that his fiancé was adamant on taking her in so he couldn't protest her wishes anyways.

"Ye'll feel right at home," Shannon added, planting a soft kiss on the young girl's face. Even though she knew that her fiancé was hesitant about it, she also knew that one more mouth to feed wouldn't be much of a burden in the grand scheme of things. Besides, she looked forward to having another female around the house to keep her company during the day.

"I think you'll like living with us, Tommy and Shannon get a bit lovey-dovey at times but they're good folks, and Joseph over here is a real nice man too," Rory interjected, pointing to each of his family members in turn.

"Thank ye so much fer taking me," Mary said, her lips curling into a grateful smile as she shook each of their hands.

Once they were all acquainted with their new family member, the O'Neal-Ryan clan ordered more beers and settled in for the night to watch their fellow Irish people dance around the pub to the lively music from their homeland. Even Mr. and Mrs. Hannigan came over to join them.

It was the beginning of their next adventure, and they couldn't wait to experience it together.

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I'm sorry if that ended a bit abruptly, honestly, I had a ton of writer's block towards the end of this chapter and I decided to just wrap it up nicely. Maybe I'll go back and add to it at a future time if I think of anything else, but I also think it's a pretty good ending the way it is.

Please tell me what you think...your feedback means the world to me! Next up... the epilogue! Then I'll start the sequel.


	46. Epliogue

**A/N: I'd like to start by thanking everyone who supported this story. It means so much to me that people have read and enjoyed my hard-work. I love you all!**

**Note: I'm going to try to do this without any spoilers for the sequel...some will be given...but the important-to-plot ones won't be. **

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_Epilogue_

**Thomas Christopher "Tommy" Ryan (b. December 9th 1890)** and **Shannon Maureen "Shanny" O'Neal-Ryan (b. February 11th 1894)** reached Chicago with their brothers in late April of 1912, after surviving the horrific disaster that was the sinking of the RMS Titanic. Tommy found work as a longshoreman unloading the boats on the Lake Michigan Harbor, just as he'd hoped. His brother, **Joseph Ryan**, got a job right alongside him and the two brothers couldn't have been happier to work together. Even little **Rory O'Neal** had found a job selling newspapers and bread on the street corner as he'd hoped. Meanwhile, Shannon and little **Mary Fitzgerald** stayed home doing the cooking and cleaning around their tiny flat. **Tommy and Shannon were married on June 1st 1912** after Tommy's boss pulled some strings to sail both of their families out for the wedding. It was a lively Irish celebration and afterwards, the sweethearts conceived their first baby in their marital bed. **Their son, Seamus Nolan Ryan, was born on March 3rd 1913**. He had Tommy's light brown hair and Shannon's bright blue eyes. They went on to have a total of six children as they had planned from the beginning. **Their daughter, Ailís Eden Ryan, was born on March 6th 1915**. She had Shannon's strawberry blonde hair and bright blue eyes. **Their second son, Patrick Sean Ryan, was born on April 1st 1917** and had Tommy's light brown hair and warm hazel eyes. **Their second daughter, Faife Anna Ryan, was born on April 10th 1919** and had Shannon's strawberry blonde hair and Tommy's warm hazel eyes. **On May 8th 1921, the happy couple welcomed twin sons, Ronan Allen Ryan and Conan Donal Ryan**. Ronan had Tommy's light brown hair and Shannon's bright blue eyes while Conan had Shannon's strawberry blonde hair and Tommy's warm hazel eyes. **They had moved back to their small village of Dunfanaghy in County Donegal, Ireland by this time, having gone back while Shannon was pregnant with Patrick in late 1916**.

**They all lived happily ever after. **


End file.
